In a piece for Forbes, Woodrow Hartzog and Evan Selinger discuss some of the myths around Big Data and the importance of using the term correctly. Skepticism is important in order to help society set realistic expectations, the authors write, but like the concept of “privacy,” the term “Big Data” itself is problematic because “it has no set meaning.” At some point it will be important to assign specific terms, rather than “heuristic terms”—or “mental shortcuts” developed to make sense of complex ideas quickly—in order to accurately discuss such concepts as Big Data, the authors write.
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