Inizia a contare: il potere e i limiti dei dati nello svelare il mondo | Donata Columbro | TEDxCuneo

TEDx Talks

15 Jun 202114:50

Summary

TLDRThe video script discusses the power and limitations of data in shaping our understanding of the world. It starts with a famous quote by William Edward Hemmings, emphasizing the importance of solid, rigorous data over subjective opinions. The speaker shares personal stories of how data collection, through a fitness tracker and GPS, provided insights into her activities and training for a marathon. However, she also acknowledges the limitations of data, such as the human error in collection and the biases that can influence what data is gathered and how it's interpreted. The script highlights the role of data in revealing unnoticed realities, such as the risks women face in their daily lives or the gender disparities in the workplace. It introduces the concept of 'Data Feminism,' an approach that considers the interconnections of various forms of injustice and uses data practices to challenge systemic oppression. The speaker calls for a careful and conscious analysis of data, advocating for diversity in data teams and the importance of addressing uncomfortable topics. The summary concludes with a call to action to critically engage with data, verify sources, and understand the motivations behind data collection and dissemination to contribute to a better world.

Takeaways

📊 **Data vs. Opinions**: The importance of using data to counter subjective opinions and emotions, as highlighted by the quote often misattributed to William Edward Hemmings.
🏃‍♀️ **Quantifying Personal Experiences**: The speaker's personal use of a fitness tracker to quantify her travels and training for a marathon, revealing unexpected insights.
🌎 **Context Matters**: Data provides only a part of the story; context is crucial for understanding the whole picture, such as the different experiences of women in various countries.
🚫 **Limits of Data**: Data collection is not neutral and is subject to human error, biases, and the choices made on what to measure and quantify.
👀 **Revealing the Unseen**: Data can expose issues that were previously invisible or not considered, such as gender disparities in sports or workplace.
🎬 **Representation in Media**: The example of how precise data analysis led to a more balanced gender representation in a Disney Pixar movie.
🤰 **Impact of Motherhood on Earnings**: Personal and national data showing the negative impact of motherhood on women's earnings and employment.
📈 **Power of Data in Identifying Issues**: Companies that collect gender disparity data are more likely to invest in gender equality and offer family-friendly policies.
🧐 **Choice of Data Collection**: The act of choosing what data to collect is a decision that reflects our individual stories, backgrounds, and the context we are in.
🌈 **Data Feminism**: An approach that uses data practices to challenge systemic oppressions by considering the limits of data and aiming for a more equitable and inclusive society.
📉 **Human Error in Data**: The potential for mistakes in data collection, such as manually entering information or failing to record data consistently.

Q & A

What is the significance of the quote 'without data you are just another person with an opinion' often attributed to William Edward Hemmings?
-The quote emphasizes the importance of data in providing a solid, rigorous, and reliable basis for arguments or decisions, as opposed to subjective and potentially volatile personal opinions.
How did the speaker use a fitness tracker to quantify her travel experience in Mexico?
-The speaker wore a step counter bracelet daily, which allowed her to visualize her movements and compare the physical activity of visiting archaeological sites to that of a day spent at a shopping mall or navigating an airport.
What did the speaker discover about her running training data when she used a more sophisticated GPS device?
-She found that during her training for her first marathon, she had only covered an average of 25 km per week, which was less than she initially thought. This realization prompted her to visualize her data and understand her performance better.
How did data visualization help the speaker understand the impact of motherhood on her income?
-After reading a statistic about the income difference between mothers and non-mothers, she analyzed her own income post-childbirth and discovered a significant drop in her earnings, which was still not at the same level as before her first child was born.
What is the 'Data Feminism' approach and how does it address the limitations of data?
-Data Feminism is an approach that uses data collection, analysis, cleaning, and visualization practices to challenge systemic oppressions, considering data limitations as part of the process. It is intersectional, addressing injustices and forms of exclusion like sexism, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and transphobia as interconnected elements.
How did the speaker's personal experience with a sprained ankle and an influenza affect her marathon training data?
-These personal incidents led to justified breaks in her training, which were reflected in her data as periods of lower activity. This helped her understand the context behind the numbers and the importance of considering personal circumstances.
What role did the speaker's personal interest play in her analysis of data related to maternity and work?
-Her personal interest in the subject, driven by her experience as a mother, made her notice and analyze a situation that affects many women, highlighting the impact of motherhood on employment and income.
How did the speaker use data to highlight the issue of gender disparity in the workplace?
-She referred to the Gender and Quality Index by Bloomberg, which measures companies' performance in terms of gender data transparency. Companies that collect data on internal gender disparities and invest in gender equality are more likely to offer financial support for childcare and implement gender parity requirements in management roles.
What is one example of how data can reveal invisible societal issues?
-The speaker mentioned creating a map for the International Day against Violence towards Women to illustrate the precautions women take when leaving their homes, which made visible situations of concern that might not have been previously acknowledged.
How did the speaker's analysis of the movie 'Cars' contribute to gender equality in Disney Pixar films?
-A Pixar employee noticed that the majority of the jokes in 'Cars' were given to male characters. By creating tables to show these numbers to creative teams during the film's production, the situation improved, and the subsequent film achieved gender parity in the distribution of jokes among characters.
What is the importance of considering the context and the limitations of data when interpreting it?
-Data provides only a partial view of the story, and the context is equally important. Limitations such as human error, biases, and the choice of what data to collect can affect the interpretation. Being aware of these limitations and the context helps in forming a more accurate and complete understanding of the situation.

Outlines

00:00

📊 The Power of Data in Shaping Perception

The first paragraph emphasizes the importance of data in contrasting solid, reliable information with subjective opinions. It narrates a personal story of quantifying a trip to Mexico using a pedometer, highlighting how data can reveal unexpected insights about our activities. The paragraph also touches on the use of a GPS for training and how it helped the speaker understand their running performance. It concludes by discussing the limitations of data, noting that they only tell part of the story and that context is equally important.

05:04

📈 Data as a Tool for Uncovering Inequality

The second paragraph delves into how data can expose societal issues and challenge our perceptions. It describes an experiment where the speaker mapped out the experiences of women living in secure environments, illustrating the different realities women face globally. The paragraph also discusses the role of data in revealing gender disparities in the workplace and the impact of motherhood on women's earnings. It highlights the importance of data in identifying and addressing these issues, while also acknowledging the potential biases in data collection.

10:07

🌐 The Intersectional Approach of Data Feminism

The third paragraph introduces the concept of 'Data Feminism,' an approach that considers the interconnectedness of various forms of injustice and exclusion. It discusses the importance of considering data limitations and personal biases when interpreting information. The paragraph provides examples of how data can be used to highlight invisible issues, such as gender-based violence and workplace inequality. It concludes by encouraging a critical examination of data sources and the motivations behind data collection, advocating for a more equitable and inclusive society through mindful data analysis.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Data

Data refers to information collected through various means, which can be analyzed and interpreted to reveal patterns and insights. In the video's context, data is used to quantify experiences and to challenge or support opinions. It is central to the theme as it illustrates how data can be used to understand personal experiences, such as the speaker's physical activity during a trip to Mexico, or societal issues like gender disparities in the workplace.

💡Opinions

Opinions are personal views or beliefs that are not necessarily based on facts or data. The video contrasts opinions with data, suggesting that while opinions can be subjective and variable, data provides a more solid and reliable basis for understanding and decision-making. The script mentions how data can counteract the volatility of opinions.

💡Feminism of Data

Feminism of Data is an interdisciplinary approach that uses data practices to challenge systemic oppressions, such as sexism, racism, and other forms of exclusion. It is mentioned in the video as a way to create more equitable and inclusive societies by making data collection and analysis processes more aware of their potential biases and limitations. The concept is illustrated by the example of Disney Pixar using data to achieve gender parity in their films.

💡Bias

Bias refers to a preference or inclination, often unconscious, towards certain perspectives or outcomes. In the context of the video, bias is discussed in relation to data collection and interpretation, highlighting how personal prejudices and societal ideologies can skew the data and lead to inaccurate or unfair representations. The speaker's personal bias led her to investigate the relationship between motherhood and work.

💡Human Error

Human Error is the possibility of mistakes made by individuals during the process of data collection, entry, or analysis. The video points out that data is not inherently neutral and can be prone to errors introduced by the people handling it, such as forgetting to record data or manually entering incorrect values. An example from the script is the speaker forgetting to charge her fitness tracker.

💡

💡Context

Context is the setting in which events or ideas occur, which can significantly influence their interpretation. The video emphasizes the importance of context in understanding data, arguing that data alone can be misleading without the proper background information. The speaker's personal experience of being a mother is contrasted with national statistics to provide a fuller picture.

💡Gender Disparities

Gender Disparities refer to the differences in outcomes or treatment between genders. The video discusses how data can reveal these disparities, such as the wage gap between mothers and non-mothers or the lack of employment opportunities for mothers. The speaker's personal experience and national data from Italy are used to highlight these disparities.

💡Data Collection

Data Collection is the process of gathering information or data for analysis. The video discusses the importance of this process in providing a factual basis for understanding various phenomena. It also highlights the potential for bias in data collection, such as choosing what data to collect and how it might reflect personal or societal biases.

💡Data Analysis

Data Analysis involves examining and interpreting data to draw conclusions. In the video, the speaker uses data analysis to understand her personal fitness journey and to reveal societal patterns like gender-based violence and workplace harassment. The process is portrayed as a tool for uncovering hidden truths and prompting change.

💡Data Visualization

Data Visualization is the graphical representation of data to make it more understandable. The video mentions the use of data visualization to reveal patterns and insights that might not be evident from the raw data alone. For example, the speaker visualized her running data to understand her training for a marathon.

💡Interpretation

Interpretation is the process of understanding the meaning of data or information. The video discusses how data must be interpreted within the correct context to be meaningful. It also touches on the potential for different interpretations based on personal biases, emphasizing the need for careful consideration when analyzing data.

Highlights

The importance of data in contrasting solid, rigorous, and reliable information against volatile and subjective opinions.

Personal story of quantifying a trip to Mexico using a step counter to analyze movement and activities.

Data can reveal insights about our habits and behaviors, such as the difference in steps taken between a shopping mall and archaeological sites.

The use of a more sophisticated GPS device to collect running data for marathon training.

Visualization of data can expose gaps in performance and help identify reasons behind them, such as injuries or travels.

Data has the power to reveal what we cannot see and challenge our perceptions of what we already know.

Creating a map for the International Day Against Violence on Women to illustrate the precautions women must take.

The acknowledgment of personal and societal privileges when collecting and interpreting data.

The concept of 'Data Feminism', which considers the interconnectedness of various forms of exclusion and injustice.

The use of data to challenge systemic oppression by revealing invisible power structures and biases.

The significance of context in data collection and analysis, emphasizing the importance of a holistic understanding.

The limitations of data, including human error and biases that can affect the collection and interpretation of data.

The role of policy in deciding where to invest in data collection to cover certain phenomena or situations.

The impact of motherhood on women's earnings and employment, as revealed by personal experience and national data.

The Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, which measures companies' performance in gender data transparency and equality.

The power of data to help identify and solve problems, such as gender disparities in the workplace.

The need for a critical approach to data, questioning the motivations behind data collection and its potential implications.

The importance of not rushing to judgment based on data and instead taking the time to understand the context and sources.

Encouraging a careful reading of data and graphs with awareness to contribute to a better world.