Marian Miner Cook
Athenaeum

When people talk about skills that are important for data science, the focus tends to be primarily on technical skills, like statistics and computer programming. Often overlooked is the importance of the scientific mindset. Being a critical thinker is essential to interpreting data and to avoiding the traps of analysis on autopilot, which can lead—and has led—to catastrophic failure. Jay Cordes, Pomona mathematics major turned data scientist and co-author of “The 9 Pitfalls of Data Science,” asserts that maintaining a skeptical mindset will keep you vigilant for the “silent evidence of failures” that distorts statistical significance. For data science to work, you need to think and work like a scientist.