Learning Tree International just published another of my articles. I recently read an opinion that data analysts will start to be paid for performance. My article is presents an opposing view. While there are jobs where performance can be measured in isolation, I don't believe that data science is one of them. Read the article for my full argument. … [Read more...]
Test your knowledge of R
Think your R knowledge is good? Well, put your money where your mouth is and take the Base R Assessment. You'll be presented with 20 random questions from a pool of 74 (currently). Once you have completed the test, you'll receive a ranking showing where you sit compared to all the others who have taken the test. If you score less than 10, then we're here to help... … [Read more...]
Microsoft to acquire Revolution Analytics
Microsoft have already shown R some love by supporting it in their Azure Machine Learning service. But, today they announced an acquisition that borders on infatuation---they are acquiring Revolution Analytics. Revolution Analytics is a commercial provider of R software, support and services---with strength in the big data area. They are the developers of the open-source RHadoop packages that … [Read more...]
How to build a predictive model using R
I've just published an article on how to build a model that predicts breast cancer diagnoses using R. You can read it on the Learning Tree International blog. It applies the k-nearest neighbors algorithm to one of the data sets from the UCI Machine Learning Repository. … [Read more...]
Common Core echo chambers
Aankit Patel, a data consultant at NYC Department of Education, has published an interesting article on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The CCSS are nationwide US academic standards for English and mathematics. They were introduced in response to: American students' declining scores on international tests differing standards being applied by state education departments the prospects for … [Read more...]