The difficult stories that data tell

Michael Dalhweid — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:23:00 GMT

Inspired by Malcolm Gladwell's presentation at Ideaworks last month, I've been reading some of his recent articles from the New Yorker magazine.

This one, about the brain trauma suffered by American footballers, is a reminder of the power of evidence - and data - to change long-established traditions in everyday areas of life, including sports.

I won't go into all the arguments here, except to say that Gladwell's examples are a stark reminder of the risks taken by these athletes. So far the research has been based on a phone survey of NFL players, but as reported by the Washington Post, the results have provoked the NFL Players Association to share data with a US Congressional Committee studying the rate and severity of brain injuries suffered by players.

It also reminds me of the story that we posted on Ideaworks last week, about Harvard researchers modelling data to identify patients at risk of domestic abuse. As we gather and connect ever increasing volumes of data, it will benefit us in ways that we can't even imagine. In 20 or even 10 years time we'll be looking back at some of the things we do today with absolute astonishment. Not every conclusion will be expected or welcome, but the very least we can do is prepare ourselves for the impact of change.

Michael Dahlweid : data

The difficult stories that data tell