Dj Patil
Former U.S. Chief Data Scientist. I build things.
Book Recommendations:
by Chris Wiggins, Matthew L. Jones·You?
by Chris Wiggins, Matthew L. Jones·You?
A sweeping history of data and its technical, political, and ethical impact on our world. From facial recognition―capable of checking people into flights or identifying undocumented residents―to automated decision systems that inform who gets loans and who receives bail, each of us moves through a world determined by data-empowered algorithms. But these technologies didn’t just appear: they are part of a history that goes back centuries, from the census enshrined in the US Constitution to the birth of eugenics in Victorian Britain to the development of Google search. Expanding on the popular course they created at Columbia University, Chris Wiggins and Matthew L. Jones illuminate the ways in which data has long been used as a tool and a weapon in arguing for what is true, as well as a means of rearranging or defending power. They explore how data was created and curated, as well as how new mathematical and computational techniques developed to contend with that data serve to shape people, ideas, society, military operations, and economies. Although technology and mathematics are at its heart, the story of data ultimately concerns an unstable game among states, corporations, and people. How were new technical and scientific capabilities developed; who supported, advanced, or funded these capabilities or transitions; and how did they change who could do what, from what, and to whom? Wiggins and Jones focus on these questions as they trace data’s historical arc, and look to the future. By understanding the trajectory of data―where it has been and where it might yet go―Wiggins and Jones argue that we can understand how to bend it to ends that we collectively choose, with intentionality and purpose. 8 photographs
Jer Thorp’s analysis of the word “data” in 10,325 New York Times stories written between 1984 and 2018 shows a distinct trend: among the words most closely associated with “data,” we find not only its classic companions “information” and “digital,” but also a variety of new neighbors―from “scandal” and “misinformation” to “ethics,” “friends,” and “play.” To live in data in the twenty-first century is to be incessantly extracted from, classified and categorized, statisti-fied, sold, and surveilled. Data―our data―is mined and processed for profit, power, and political gain. In Living in Data, Thorp asks a crucial question of our time: How do we stop passively inhabiting data, and instead become active citizens of it? Threading a data story through hippo attacks, glaciers, and school gymnasiums, around colossal rice piles, and over active minefields, Living in Data reminds us that the future of data is still wide open, that there are ways to transcend facts and figures and to find more visceral ways to engage with data, that there are always new stories to be told about how data can be used. Punctuated with Thorp's original and informative illustrations, Living in Data not only redefines what data is, but reimagines who gets to speak its language and how to use its power to create a more just and democratic future. Timely and inspiring, Living in Data gives us a much-needed path forward.
by Matthew Swanson, Robbi Behr·You?
by Matthew Swanson, Robbi Behr·You?
Sunrise Summer is a picture book by writer Matthew Swanson and illustrator Robbi Behr that celebrates self-confidence and empowerment, as a girl’s role changes in her family’s fishing expeditions. When a girl and her family travel four thousand miles from home, it’s not your typical summer vacation. Everything is different on the Alaskan tundra―where the grizzly bears roam and the sockeye salmon swim―including the rules. A girl can do things she wouldn’t, and couldn’t, do at home. She can wake up at midnight to work with her mom on a fishing crew. She can learn what it means to be an essential part of a team. She can become a braver, stronger, and ever-more capable version of herself. She can take her next big step. She’s ready for her first real sunrise. An Imprint Book
by Tara Dawson McGuinness, Hana Schank, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Darren Walker·You?
by Tara Dawson McGuinness, Hana Schank, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Darren Walker·You?
“Worth a read for anyone who cares about making change happen.”―Barack Obama A powerful new blueprint for how governments and nonprofits can harness the power of digital technology to help solve the most serious problems of the twenty-first century As the speed and complexity of the world increases, governments and nonprofit organizations need new ways to effectively tackle the critical challenges of our time―from pandemics and global warming to social media warfare. In Power to the Public, Tara Dawson McGuinness and Hana Schank describe a revolutionary new approach―public interest technology―that has the potential to transform the way governments and nonprofits around the world solve problems. Through inspiring stories about successful projects ranging from a texting service for teenagers in crisis to a streamlined foster care system, the authors show how public interest technology can make the delivery of services to the public more effective and efficient. At its heart, public interest technology means putting users at the center of the policymaking process, using data and metrics in a smart way, and running small experiments and pilot programs before scaling up. And while this approach may well involve the innovative use of digital technology, technology alone is no panacea―and some of the best solutions may even be decidedly low-tech. Clear-eyed yet profoundly optimistic, Power to the Public presents a powerful blueprint for how government and nonprofits can help solve society’s most serious problems.
Recommended by Dj Patil
“🚨 I get to interview @suneel about his awesome book Backable on April 6 at noon! Thx @cwclub @INFORUMsf for supporting! It's awesome & and a must read for anyone that is trying to get their ideas across (including founders, corporate, academia, and gov) https://t.co/jBqvNVNZ41” (from X)
by Suneel Gupta, Carlye Adler·You?
by Suneel Gupta, Carlye Adler·You?
A groundbreaking book that boldly claims the key to success is not talent, connections, or ideas, but the ability to persuade people to take a chance on your potential. "The most exceptional people aren't just brilliant...they're backable." —Daniel Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of When, Drive and To Sell is Human No one makes it alone. But there’s a reason some people can get investors or bosses to believe in them while others cannot. And that reason has little to do with experience, pedigree, or a polished business plan. Backable people seem to have a hidden quality that inspires others to take action. We often chalk this up to natural talent or charisma...either you have “it” or you don’t. After getting rejected by every investor he pitched, Suneel Gupta had a burning question: Could “it” be learned? Drawing lessons from hundreds of the world’s biggest thinkers, Gupta discovered how to pitch new ideas in a way that has raised millions of dollars, influenced large-scale change inside massive corporations, and even convinced his eight-year-old daughter to clean her room. Inside Backable are long-held secrets from producers of Oscar-winning films, members of Congress, military leaders, culinary stars, venture capitalists, founders of unicorn-status startups, and executives at iconic companies like Lego, Method, and Pixar. Backable reveals how the key to success is not charisma, connections, or even your résumé, but rather your ability to persuade others to take a chance on you. This original book will show you how.
by Molly Dillon·You?
"An excellent guide to the how and why of a life of public service." (Amy Poehler) Return to President Obama's White House in this New York Times best-selling anthology for young women by young women, featuring stories from 10 inspiring young staffers who joined his administration in their 20s with the hope of making a difference. Includes a foreword by actress (Grown-ish) and activist Yara Shahidi! Shahidi is the creator of Eighteen x '18, a platform to empower first-time voters. They were teens when Barack Obama announced he was running for president. They came of age in the Obama Era. And then they joined his White House. Smart, motivated, ambitious - and ready to change the world. Kalisha Dessources Figures planned one of the biggest summits held by the Obama White House - The United State of Women. Andrea Flores fought for the president's immigration bill on the Hill. Nita Contreras traveled the globe and owned up to a rookie mistake on Air Force One (in front of the leader of the free world!). Here are 10 inspiring, never-before-told stories from diverse young women who got. Stuff. Done. They recall - fondly and with humor and a dose of humility - what it was like to literally help run the world. Yes She Can is an intimate look at Obama's presidency through the eyes of some of the most successful, and completely relatable, young women who were there. Full of wisdom they wish they could impart to their younger selves and a message about the need for more girls in government, these recollections are about stepping out into the spotlight and up to the challenge - something every girl can do.
by James Ward Brown, Ruel V. Churchill·You?
by James Ward Brown, Ruel V. Churchill·You?
Published by McGraw-Hill since its first edition in 1941, this classic text is an introduction to Fourier series and their applications to boundary value problems in partial differential equations of engineering and physics. It will primarily be used by students with a background in ordinary differential equations and advanced calculus. There are two main objectives of this text. The first is to introduce the concept of orthogonal sets of functions and representations of arbitrary functions in series of functions from such sets. The second is a clear presentation of the classical method of separation of variables used in solving boundary value problems with the aid of those representations.
by Matthew Swanson, Robbi Behr·You?
by Matthew Swanson, Robbi Behr·You?
In the third book in the critically acclaimed middle-grade series about mystery-solving siblings, Moxie McCoy, fourth grade detective, goes undercover. Moxie joins the Wonder Scouts to investigate a suspected saboteur in the badge competition. She’s never liked the Wonder Scouts, but once she joins the group, Moxie becomes enchanted with earning badges herself! Meanwhile, someone has broken into Tiddlywhump’s Local House of History, and it’s up to Moxie’s little brother, Milton, to begin his own investigation. Can this irrepressible detective duo crack two different cases? Richly illustrated and laugh-out-loud funny Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr’s Wonder Undercover is a must-have for young readers. There are more mysteries in The Real McCoys series: The Real McCoys The Real McCoys: Two’s a Crowd The Real McCoys: Wonder Undercover An Imprint Book Praise for The Real McCoys: A Junior Library Guild Selection "Readers will breeze through this ingenious combination of text and art, eager for Moxie and Milton’s next case." ―School Library Journal, starred review Praise for The Real McCoys: Two’s a Crowd "An outstanding, truly unique reading experience." ―Booklist
by Aarti Namdev Shahani·You?
by Aarti Namdev Shahani·You?
Here We Are is a heart-wrenching memoir about an immigrant family's American Dream, the justice system that took it away, and the daughter who fought to get it back, from NPR correspondent Aarti Namdev Shahani. The Shahanis came to Queens―from India, by way of Casablanca―in the 1980s. They were undocumented for a few unsteady years and then, with the arrival of their green cards, they thought they'd made it. This is the story of how they did, and didn't; the unforeseen obstacles that propelled them into years of disillusionment and heartbreak; and the strength of a family determined to stay together. Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares follows the lives of Aarti, the precocious scholarship kid at one of Manhattan's most elite prep schools, and her dad, the shopkeeper who mistakenly sells watches and calculators to the notorious Cali drug cartel. Together, the two represent the extremes that coexist in our country, even within a single family, and a truth about immigrants that gets lost in the headlines. It isn’t a matter of good or evil; it's complicated. Ultimately, Here We Are is a coming-of-age story, a love letter from an outspoken modern daughter to her soft-spoken Old World father. She never expected they'd become best friends.
by Chris Albon·You?
This practical guide provides nearly 200 self-contained recipes to help you solve machine learning challenges you may encounter in your daily work. If youâ??re comfortable with Python and its libraries, including pandas and scikit-learn, youâ??ll be able to address specific problems such as loading data, handling text or numerical data, model selection, and dimensionality reduction and many other topics. Each recipe includes code that you can copy and paste into a toy dataset to ensure that it actually works. From there, you can insert, combine, or adapt the code to help construct your application. Recipes also include a discussion that explains the solution and provides meaningful context. This cookbook takes you beyond theory and concepts by providing the nuts and bolts you need to construct working machine learning applications. Youâ??ll find recipes for: Vectors, matrices, and arrays Handling numerical and categorical data, text, images, and dates and times Dimensionality reduction using feature extraction or feature selection Model evaluation and selection Linear and logical regression, trees and forests, and k-nearest neighbors Support vector machines (SVM), na�¯ve Bayes, clustering, and neural networks Saving and loading trained models