[homework] Reading & experience report

[VictoriaBoycheva]

Asking

• [ ] Ask ChatGPT for help completing this homework

Feeling, Writing, Thinking

• [x] Post an experience report (a paragraph or several) as a comment on this issue. This experience report should convey what motivates you to understand and practice data thinking. An experience report may describe a collection of experiences (which may or may not relate to data), and some questions to consider may be helpful: What were you or those involved feeling? Doing? Thinking? Asking? Where were they? What systems were involved, if any? Who would you want to better understand the incentives at play?
  • if you are stuck, ask for help on Zulip, come to office hours, make a plan of tasks to do and ask for feedback on the plan
  • try using dictation on iPhone, Android, computer, and ask ChatGPT to summarize it
  • ask Lex for ideas or ChatGPT for ideas
  • edit using https://hemingwayapp.com/, Grammarly, or any other tool to help
  • read the below articles for ideas

Doing

• [ ] Review the first class: https://panopto.ut.ee/Panopto/Pages/Sessions/List.aspx?folderID=43bb180c-79a6-4324-b055-afa400ecd1a0 - ask on Zulip if you can't access this
• [ ] Review the Figma whiteboard from the first class: https://www.figma.com/file/SsoNLhaZwnSGkADd4eS0D8/230220-introduction?node-id=0%3A1&t=jR2hISrDchAPapYR-1
• [ ] Create a LinkedIn profile. (If you are not comfortable using your real name, feel free to use a fake name + email)
• [ ] Post your LinkedIn profile on Zulip -- Zulip is open source and enables us to analyze our chat messages with natural language processing tools such as ChatGPT, which we will do later in the course!
• [ ] Read https://matt.might.net/articles/how-to-email/ to understand principles of communication over email or Zulip
• [ ] Read parts of the Mailchimp Style Guide (https://styleguide.mailchimp.com/voice-and-tone/ or https://styleguide.mailchimp.com/writing-principles/) to understand how written communication can be guided by principles
• [ ] Read https://georgesaunders.substack.com/p/on-worry to understand a professional writer's perspective on writing.
• [x] Read https://every.to/chain-of-thought/writing-essays-with-ai-a-guide to understand how to use voice recording, dictation on your smartphone or computer, and ChatGPT, and Lex to help you write
• [ ] Read https://simonwillison.net/2022/Dec/5/rust-chatgpt-copilot/ to understand how ChatGPT and CoPilot can help you learn data thinking, programming, and statistics skills
• [ ] Read http://web.archive.org/web/20170208134519/http://storyshots.tumblr.com/post/25032057278/22-storybasics-ive-picked-up-in-my-time-at-pixar -- especially the "Once upon a time" story telling framework Pixar used for its movies.
• [ ] Read https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/02/13/the-dubious-rise-of-impostor-syndrome to help understand concepts that can increase our psychological safety and trust in class and how asking ChatGPT can help reduce our fear of asking for help when stuck.
• [x] Read https://jaan.io/my-friend-radicalized-this-made-me-rethink-how-i-build-AI/ to learn about my journey in understanding the incentives that can affect our thoughts, feelings, and actions in society and the incentives that affect how AI such as ChatGPT is built.

Programming & Infrastructure

• [x] Create a GitHub Codespace using the data thinking template here (from https://github.com/onefact/datathinking.org-codespace)
• [ ] Send a screenshot to Zulip of a plot you made in the GitHub codespace (of any dataset or data you generated as in the live coding demo from the first lecture; ask for help if this is unclear)
• [x] Sign up for Lex - message Jaan on Zulip for an invite code
• [x] Sign up for Figma as a student (https://www.figma.com/education/students/)
• [x] Install copyq on Windows Powershell or Linux using Chocolatey, or install Maccy on Mac using Homebrew. This will save you a lot of time throughout the class as you copy and paste things from ChatGPT!

[VictoriaBoycheva]

Data thinking has become increasingly important in today's world as more and more decisions are driven by data. Understanding data and its implications has become crucial in various fields, from healthcare to science to marketing. As someone who is interested about problem-solving, self-development and decision-making, I have found it very beneficial to learn how to use data thinking for a happier life. Since data is all around us and is needed for every aspect of life, it is crucial to stay up-to-date with the latest tools, techniques, and best practices in data analysis. This not only helps in making informed decisions but also helps in identifying new opportunities and insights that were not visible before.

Collecting all the data and coming up with a summarised result is something I have always considered frustrating. During my studies I found out that data is the only tool that can actually help us combat climate change, or at least implement mitigation measures in the short-term, something I am really passionate about. Data can help us predict future trends and make decisions to affect those trends in a positive way. Data can also suggest adaptation solutions or warn communities affected by climate change. Beside those important topics, data can help in your daily life and make it more enjoyable by assisting you in the task you don’t really like doing. My experience with data is yet not much. I had to find data for a graph I had to do, then I understood how difficult and stressful finding the right data can be. However, with the help of AI tools this data journey can be quite simple and enjoyable. Thankfully, back then I found a trusty database for ongoing projects about green hydrogen production in EU member states and my task was easily completed, but not always that is the case. Collecting, summarising and visualising data for your master’s thesis could be very difficult task. For instance, all environment related studies need some data tools in order to come up with results, even if we are talking about wetland restoration and greenhouse gas measuring - here is where data thinking can always help you out.

Even though I do not have many experience with data or (big) data so far, I am eager to learn and use new tools, in order to be more productive in my studies and future career. Ultimately, the ability to harness the power of data thinking can be a game-changer in today's data-driven world.