4 Ways that Data Analysis has Enhanced Societal Efficiency

1.) Population Skepticism: The ease with which large amounts of data can be compiled, analyzed and the results made readily available for the public, has added to the issues of trust that exist between the general public and the media. Results of data analysis are used frequently to prove a point due to how readily they can be obtained. Not all are legitimate, and the result is that people are beginning to critique data analysis more and more before they accept it as legitimate information. People can refine their searches and gain more accurate information.

2.) Science: Science as we know it would be nowhere near as successful as it is today, without the ability to store large amounts of data and analyze them quantitatively via the computing technology available to modern laboratories. Websites like PubMed and the National Center for Biotechnical Information allow for input of information and analysis of results almost within seconds. You can determine the evolutionary distance between species by typing the nucleotide sequence of a gene into a search engine, and in less than a minute, you can compare it with sequences found in the genomes of other species.

3.) Business: Corporations thrive when their commodity is in demand, and they are making a profit. The ability to quantitatively determine what exactly is in demand is an enormous resource for modern corporations. To be able to provide consumers with what they want helps business. Today, there are records of purchases by online buyers; there are surveys that specifically ask people what they like and do not like about a product. The ability to analyze results allows for greater profit based on customer satisfaction. This allows for greater efficiency in a McDonaldized society…increasing the profits of our most efficient corporations.

4.) Knowledge: Access to statistics regarding experiences, purchases, product satisfaction and disease diagnostics across populations, has given rise to a more cautious population. People take more time to “google” Honda vs Hyundai, or check out ConsumerReports before they decide which car to buy. He who is experiencing right upper quadrant abdominal pain, can research scientific journals or type his symptoms into WebMd before he deems it necessary to go to the hospital. With WebMd’s ability to refine search results from the multitude of medical cases in its’ database, the patient can get a better idea as to the severity of his illness.

People enjoy feeling like they are part of the majority. They like to compare themselves to others, because that is an aspect of human nature. One gains perspective as to where they stand in society. By quantitatively understanding the norms and experiences of the rest of the population, one can gage his actions with more confidence. More thinking takes place in the world of data processing, before actions are taken.

Not all results of data processing advancements are positive. But, one thing is for sure. Without the ability to compute large amounts of data for quantitative analysis, society would not be where it is today.