Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

"a worldview built on the important of causation is being challenged by a preponderance of correlations. The possession of knowledge, which once meant an understanding of the past, is coming to mean an ability to predict the future." - Big Data (Schonberger & Cukier)

so, knowledge now is allegedly possession of the future, rather than possession of the past.

This is because the future and past are structurally the same thing in these models. Each could be missing, but re-creatable links.

Also, conflicting correlations can be shown all the time. if almost any correlation can be shown to be real, what's true? How do we deal with conflicting correlations?




Consider applying for YC's Summer 2025 batch! Applications are open till May 13

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: