When you're designing a new visualization, the first question to consider should always be: What is each 'tool' uniquely good for? Matplotlib's Bar charts, in contrast to line graphs and scatter plots, are useful for discreet categories that have amounts (often counts) associated with them. A line graph would indicate that there is a continuous connection between the … [Read more...]
Easy Python Time Series Plots with Matplotlib
Looking for the only a set of Matplotlib guides that even tries to be entertaining? Click here and remember: At least we tried.I'll start with a confession. I used to hate Matplotlib. It was one of the primary reasons that I had a brief, torrid affair with R a few years ago. I found Matplotlib awkward, particularly in contrast to ggplot, and was relieved to move beyond the … [Read more...]
Mobile Innovation is Saving Lives
We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters- Peter Thiel, legendary venture capitalist Humanity has made amazing strides in the last few decades, but many are beginning to question whether we have lost our ability to innovate in the spaces that need it the most. Healthcare is one of the most painful examples. Even the very first step, scheduling an … [Read more...]
Data Driven Customer Insight: The Risks and Benefits of Real-Time Customer Facing Data
The world is moving faster every day, and this is particularly true of customer facing-businesses. As people have more information at their fingertips (both to make purchasing decisions and to distract from them), it becomes increasingly difficult to catch their attention and understand their needs. It is common to compare old companies to dinosaurs, evoking the image … [Read more...]
Deliberate Practice for the Data Scientist
Practice doesn't make perfect. Long hours of hard work can easily go to waste if not structured wisely. Athletes have long known this, which is why the best coaches are so intensely sought after. The psychological field of Expert Performance has mapped out some requirements for allowing time spent in practice to actually improve performance. Taken together, the application of … [Read more...]