We're All Data Scientists | Rebecca Nugent | TEDxCMU

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Published 2017-05-19
In her talk, Rebecca Nugent concentrates on the rise of Data Science and what it means for education at the bachelor's and perhaps master's level. She proposes that Data Science in many ways is actually "The People's Science" and that it has the ability to empower students and employees of all types of backgrounds including the humanities and social sciences. She claims it is a field that belongs to everyone and calls for everyone to seize the opportunity to become data scientists within their own fields/jobs.

Rebecca Nugent is a Teaching Professor and the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Statistics at Carnegie Mellon University. Originally from Texas, she received her PhD in Statistics from the University of Washington. She has spearheaded the rapid growth of the Carnegie Mellon Statistics Undergraduate program and the development of modern, interdisciplinary curriculum including serving on the National Academy of Sciences Committee for “Envisioning the Data Science Discipline: The Undergraduate Perspective”. Her research interests lie in the identification and extraction of meaningful patterns in high-dimensional data, techniques which she tries to apply daily to her own life.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx
All Comments (18)
  • @ThinkLikeaPhysicist
    It's true that we all do probability and statistics, on some level, in everyday life. But, a few tools (the normal distribution, a good understanding of error bars, Bayes' Theorem, etc.) can take us much farther. It would be great if the general public learned these skills, not necessarily for a career in data science, but just to make better decisions in everyday life and to improve policy decisions. I'm a physicist trying to make the tools that we use in research accessible to the general public. Just a few tools can be incredibly useful in making sense of the world around us.
  • @jerbiedelacruz8079
    Thank you. You just gave me the courage to believe in myself and continue in my path of becoming a Data Scientist
  • @michellemercy2715
    My son was tested in his junior year by the attorney generals office. His score determined he was unable to recognize middle school formulas, yet he was pushed through each grade. I contacted the attorney generals office because the public school system kept passing him without the skills and knowledge. My son has autism and it takes on average 4 months longer than other students for comprehension to happen. The attorney generals recommendation was a charter school. Honestly charter is the way. They give your child the time they need and there are many ways to go to school. It's fabulous.
  • @christiantomford3128
    Great talk that I very much resonated with. I even sent it to my mom who has her masters in childhood education and teaching and said too many times “I’m just not a math person.” There’s definitely something for all of us to learn in this conversation.
  • @haroldjorge7856
    Love that Episode of Supernatural... oh and thank you for this video. Made me feel better in following this career path late in my career :D
  • @7810
    Great speech. Thanks!
  • @kasnarfburns210
    Very interesting lecture!! It's interesting personally because I have a B.A. in English which when I was in H.S. I would have never foreseen happening. Math was my strong suit in H.S. While I do manage fairly well with my writing, on standardized tests, I still tend to do better with numbers than I do with verbal skills.
  • @coreycox2345
    I missed a lot of necessary math skills by not going to high school. Today, I wonder if my life would be improved in some way if I had a rigorous understanding algebra or geometry. I suspect that I have some understanding from having to solve problems in my career, but have no concept of what I am missing. It would be good if data scientists whose "balloon never lands" heard this woman.
  • @visulino
    Finally, someone who speaks great English. She was raised by an English teacher.
  • @dennisfrancisblewett6480
    Excellent video. It appears, lol, that you've implied that, lol, Sam and Dean Winchester may be considered data scientists. If so, I think that's a very entertaining and awesome idea.
  • @Farsmezan
    So, even cats are data scientists. There are cats on the street where I drive my car. When they cross the street they know that car could kill them. So, they look at it. And try to move when it is safe. When I speed up (to observe the reaction of the cat) the cat move faster toward the other side or return depending on the distance. So, the cats can do math and statistics and can make a smart decision. So, according to you they are data scientists. So I have a question. What make a data scientist a data scientist?