YOU KNOW NOTHING! LIVING IN AN ERA OF NOISE

Never in human history have we had access to so much reliable data. So why do we keep getting things so wrong? We live in an era of data overload, we have never had access to so much so fast. How do we make sense of it all? I can't see the facts for all the data ...

NASA, 1986: 
A keen bongo player sits alongside a veteran of the Korean War to face the world’s press. Why?

Richard was a mean bongo player, but he was also a Nobel award-winning physicist. Meanwhile, Neil earned his student pilot's license at sixteen years old and flew for the navy during the Korean war, but he was also the first man on the Moon. So what were they doing facing the press?

A fact-finding mission 

Richard Feynman and Neil Armstrong were asked to join the Rogers Commission to investigate the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. The question? Just what went wrong? What connects these two men is the unerring pursuit of fact. 

Despite the politics of NASA, ultimately the facts came out. After close examination of all the data it was recognized that a design fault had caused two small rubber sealant rings to burn through. 73 seconds after liftoff the space shuttle was engulfed in flames, as a result the rocket broke up and, tragically, seven astronauts lost their lives. 

The facts were, as they say, 'hidden in plain sight'. Sometimes seeing through all the big data, in this case more than 5000 physical pieces of broken shuttle and rocket, in addition to the noise of politics, to join the dots of data and find the relevant facts takes a moonwalker and a quantum physicist. Sometimes it just takes just takes an insanely curious mind with a passion for education, world health and clarity of thought.

“Stay open to new data and be prepared to keep freshening up your knowledge.”

― Hans Rosling

A fact-based world view — Making sense of it all 

It's 2006 and a new kind of conference is gathering admirers. 

TED in Monterrey, California was for the best technologists, entertainers and designers. Attendees were paying thousands of dollars to attend. That year an energetic, impish swede, took to the stage. He wasn't an entertainer, but he sure was entertaining as he both illuminated and embarrassed his audience by exposing their ignorance of basic facts. 

Hans Rosling, a world health expert and specialist in statistics, made facts sing.

 He cleared the room of the noise of data and of the misinterpretation of facts. The audience was changed, to date that presentation has been viewed online over 13 million times.

20 years ago 29% of the world lived in extreme poverty, now it's 9%

Factfullness ― Hans, Ola and Anna Rosling

Does your mindset correspond to my dataset? 

Rosling made it his life's mission to battle ignorance with facts. From Monterrey he soon went to the boardrooms of multinational corporations such as CocaCola, Ikea, to global banks and hedge funds. He was demonstrating that so many of us were operating from a distorted world view. He showed that our mindsets didn't correspond with his datasets — that we simply weren't thinking based on facts. 

Even our closely held concept of two worlds, one developing and one developed, is completely out of date — not based on current data. Rosling showed that there existed, in fact, four key global income groups. He would question, are we not all developing? Is Singapore, for example, developing or developed? Developing according to the UN, not so said Rosling.

What you think you know, is wrong — upgrade to be better 

More people die today from eating too much than from eating too little; more people die from old age than from infectious diseases; and more people commit suicide than are killed by soldiers, terrorists and criminals combined.

Homo Deus ― Yuval Noah Harari 

The facts give us a clearer picture of what is truly happening about us. There is more data available to us and its moving faster about us than ever before. How can we act if we are operating from a basis of facts and data that are fundamentally out of time or context? Trying to understand so much data and information on which to base our facts leaves us asking ourselves what kind of place and time is this?

Ultimately, we must squeeze the smart data from the big data to grasp that which is truly relevant. Only then can we make decisions based on hard facts and act with true purpose.

IN DATA WE TRUST? THE POWER OF DATA FOR GOOD

Swimming in Data

It's 1999, the sci-fi film The Matrix is launched on an unsuspecting public. It features a slick Keanu Reeves and never seen before, 'bullet time', visual effects. The film presents a dystopia. Underlying the machines that have apparently enslaved us is an ever-present, eerie green code.

Ominously, the code intermittently rains down across the screen. It's data, and it's unrelenting. We are presented with an unreal world where rules are bent, nothing is true, and little is real.

“It would be so nice if something made sense for a change.”

― Alice in Wonderland

We know data holds tremendous power. We've never had so much available to us. In the hands of data scientists it reveals solutions to problems, some of which we've not yet even encountered but which become clear as the new information or big data is filtered through and organised. Solutions and products can be found and suggested that were previously not possible to realise.

The 'lady with the lamp', the unsinkable ship, and the Swedish emergency services

1853: Data Gathering and Representation 

Florence Nightingale is famous as the woman who, during the Crimean war, worked tirelessly to help fallen soldiers. She was the definition of the dedicated, hardworking and compassionate nurse. She was also so much more. She collected, crunched and displayed stats in a way that hadn't been done before and, in doing so, she revolutionized hospital care.

Collecting data from diseases, wounds and deaths Nightingale's revealed that the majority of those who died did not die from wounds but instead from diseases as a result of their terrible living conditions.

After the war, Nightingale travelled to Europe and visited almost every hospital she analyzed them and then wrote up her findings in “Notes on Hospitals”. The factual data collected in her report became a blueprint for hospitals over the next century.

Those who have been saved, have been saved through one man, Mr Marconi... and his marvellous invention.

– Herbert Samuel, Postmaster General

1912: Delivering Clarity in Confusion 

In the confusion that swirled around RMS Titanic's final moments’ wireless officer, Jack Phillips, sent out the new SOS morse code signal. Ships nearby heard the call and came to the ocean liner's aid. As a result, 706 lives were ultimately saved.

The wireless telegraph was one of the most wonderful inventions of the bold new age. The data transmission that was being made possible through this latest communication technology was revolutionary.

 In the past locations were easily pin-pointed as telephones were fixed to a landline, this made things a lot easier.

2018: Confusion reigns? 

Today, the convenience of the mobile phone presents unique problems.

A major issue for emergency services is incident location. In the past locations were easily pin-pointed as telephones were fixed to a landline, this made things a lot easier.

However, although your mobile phone has a billing address, it is quite possible that the phone will not be anywhere near that address when an incident takes place. In addition to the issue of locating the incident via the phone itself, the phone’s operator is also likely to be under stress, and therefore able to give potentially wrong information. As a result, you have a recipe for confusion or at least a lost emergency responder.

112 — Bisnode Data, Bringing more to the number

The power of smart data effectively means that now we can now actively locate a mobile call in the case of an emergency wherever it may be. Additionally, when a crisis occurs, emergency voice messages or texts, can be sent specifically to the phones surrounding any disaster zone or emergency hotspot.

2019 — Are you a Dataist? Do you believe in Data? 

However much you believe blindly in the data, whether you’re a convert to ‘Dataism’ and all it stands for is down to you. However, the opportunity to investigate and analyze the data you have, and the ability to reach solutions and products as a result of this, is a worthwhile journey to make.

Direct access to right data

Today, 170 municipalities in Sweden use Bisnode to obtain correct legal information about people and companies. In Södertälje the result was SEK 47 million savings in tax in the first year of implementation.

Quick access to the right data gave Södertälje municipality the opportunity to focus on clients and give them faster and more accurate information about the possibility of financial assistance. The department's resources are now used more efficiently, and the clients' relevant personal data is available to the social secretaries who need them.

We are living in the age of data. It is clear that managing it, understanding it and channelling it for good will be the defining issues of the age.

NO MORE EXCUSES: ACTION NOW FOR SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT

25 MAY 2018

“We are in the early stages of a sustainability revolution,” says former US Vice President Al Gore. Al Gore spoke at the Scania Sustainable Transport Forum in Stockholm, which gathered industry and political decision-makers to chart the pathway to achieving carbon-free heavy transport by 2050, in keeping with the Paris Agreement.

The call to action has never been more urgent. “Climate change is the most serious challenge that mankind has ever faced,” emphasised Gore. “Scientists are making the point that things are getting even worse than we predicted earlier.”

The situation is worsening as we witness shrinking glaciers, increased flooding, draughts, heat waves, unprecedented heavy rainfalls, hurricanes and disrupted wind and ocean currents. The dramatic consequences are already resulting in uninhabitable areas of the world.

“Although we are at a turning point there is more to do and we are still falling short. Yet the rate of change is pretty impressive,” says Gore.

Solar energy cheaper than fossil fuel
The cost of solar energy is rapidly decreasing and is already below the cost of fossil fuel. In China, 54 percent of new energy comes from solar and wind and in Europe, 77 percent of new generated energy from renewable sources.

Scania has initiated a study that shows that several pathways can be selected to achieve a carbon-free heavy transport system by 2050. These pathways include switching to battery electric vehicles, biofuels, fuel cells or a mix of all these technologies. To succeed, change is needed at a pace never before seen and action must start immediately.

Scania’s President and CEO stated that he was convinced that we can make the transformation to sustainable transport. “We haven’t waited for the politicians, we haven’t even waited for our customers because the two degree global warming increase is not waiting for us. We must work with what we have today – here and now.”

Christiana Figures, who led the negotiations that led to the Paris Agreement, says that prerequisites for initiating these pathways are a compelling vision, stubborn optimism, radical collaboration, contagious leadership and publicised progress.

Shared  public and private responsibility
Making progress is dependent on shared responsibility between public and private sectors. “We should not fall into the trap that business needs to take on the role of government. Having said that, we do need purpose-driven corporations such as Scania, with emphasis on a triple bottom line comprising social, environmental and financial goals.”

At the Sustainable Transport Forum Scania, together with energy provider E.ON, infrastructure provider Siemens and global retailer H&M group, announced that they had formed a coalition to accelerate the decarbonisation of heavy transport. “At the end of the day it’s all about mindset,” says Anna Gedda, Head of Sustainability H&M group. “One year ago, my 6-year old son asked my husband why we were destroying the planet by not using an electric car. In six-seven years’ time he will be a H&M customer and these are the expectations that H&M will have to meet. We don’t only need to make fashion sustainable but to make sustainability fashionable.”

Partnerships can accelerate the movement

Partnerships such as this will be instrumental on the continuing journey towards fossil-free heavy transport. “We have the technology today but need to partner to accelerate the movement,” says Henriksson. “We see that teaming up with our customers and their customers gives results. But we also need to work closely with policy makers to remove hurdles. We cannot do this alone; we need friends, partner and partnership to make 2050 happen.”

IMPOSSIBLE TO I'M POSSIBLE — DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING

11 Jun 2019

What is it that transforms the spark of an idea, or an insurmountable challenge, into reality? How do the likes of Elon Musk make the seemingly impossible possible? 

Musk wishes to start a real city on Mars by 2050, he's realized almost all his goals. He's an engineer and a visionary with a flair for making dreams a reality, how does he do it? One thing's for sure, whether making his first billion online, or working with rocket science, he has always had an eye for data. 

Data drives intelligent decision making. Put another way, we make informed decisions on the basis of hard facts and data.

Realising the impossible 

In 218 BC a Carthaginian military leader led a military ambush unprecedented in the history of warfare. What does it take to catch an empire by its tail?

In AD 1962, while addressing a large crowd gathered at a sports stadium in Houston, Texas another leader defines an aim that will necessitate near incomprehensible technical ability to achieve. What is it that transforms the spark of an idea, or an insurmountable challenge, into reality?

JFK, the youthful president didn’t plan to put a man on the moon because he thought it might be possible, it had to be possible.

Visions and plans 

The Carthaginian general, Hannibal, chose not to cross the Alps because he thought it was a good idea. Hannibal chose to cross the Alps because he knew it was a good idea. 

JFK, the youthful president didn’t plan to put a man on the moon because he thought it might be possible, it had to be possible. 

JFK, the youthful president didn’t plan to put a man on the moon because he thought it might be possible, it had to be possible.

Hannibal's enemy, the Roman army, wasn't expecting to wake up to 37 elephants, 15,000 horses and 30,000 soldiers, coming over the mountains and into Italy. The space race against the Soviets had already started, they’d put a man in space, the U.S.A had to put one on the moon.

 It’s 1963, we’re back in Texas, this time Dallas, it’s 12:30 pm — the 35th President of the United States is assassinated. A million conspiracy theories are launched. The space race presses on regardless. 

And so it came to pass that in 1969 for the first time in human history an American named Neil walked on the moon. Could he possibly have seen the Great Wall of China from outer space? Is it possible that thousands of years before the ancient Egyptians took their inspiration from the lunar body to help layout their burial sites? Or was it aliens…

Data and facts, realizing visions and dreams 

Kennedy didn’t put Armstrong on the moon. Not himself, he was no scientist, no pilot or engineer. 400,000 people over ten years did. Aliens didn’t help out with the pyramids, decades of belief in a story assisted by millions of man-hours of labour did. And Hannibal may have crossed the Alps but his elephants, men and horses didn’t make it over without one vital ingredient. Data.

Facts and data, data and facts 

Data is the basis of facts, and on facts meaningful decisions made and actions taken. 

Data ensured that Apollo 11 could travel 240,000 miles in 76 hours, that a general could make an apparently impossible mission. NASA used data to confirm that the Great Wall cannot be easily seen from space and certainly not from the moon. 

Without raw data and facts, advisors would not have advised Kennedy to go ahead with his speech.

Big Data to Smart Data 

The sheer amount of data we can now digitally draw upon allows us to make truly powerful decisions. We can now make real that which was previously perceived impossible. 

We may have had dreams, such as autonomous driving before but they could never be realised without the ability to harness big data which is now possible. However, just as successive generations have had to manage their information to best realise its power, we also need to manage ours. Smart data is exactly how we make sense of it all in order to drive our decisions forward.

and finally... for the love of pizza// data data data 

Put simply data-driven decision making can be boiled down to pizza making. 

Big data can tell you everything about making a pizza. From to the optimal temperature of the air that’s breathed by water buffalos required for the production of mozzarella, to the entire history of the pizza across the world. It could tell you how pizza fits into our culture and when it might peak, it could, of course, go further into all foods related and unrelated, it could tell you more. However only smart data will tell you how to make the pizza you want to make. That’s of course, if you want a pizza at all…