Big Bang Data

Fascinating exhibition at Somerset House looking at the effects of the current explosion in data and the effects it is having on society, culture and politics.

I will admit I thought this would be quite dry but I’d seen good reviews and was intrigued partly because my work involves data and how you can get different data to work together. The show presented complex ideas in a really imaginative way, for example there was a section on the cloud explaining what it was and pointing out it isn’t as ethereal as it sounds. It showed the data centres involved as postcards of the buildings hanging over a map of the world.

I was fascinating by the section that talked about how the internet has given us the tools to record the minutia of our lives which made me realise how much I record online, this blog just being one example! I found myself fighting the urge to look up some of the interesting apps it mentioned as part of the point was that this isn’t necessarily a good thing.

The most interesting section looked at data being collected on London all the time showing online posts on a map and as raw data projected on the wall. There were also terminals at which you could make decisions about London to project how it might be in 2026. I created lots of new housing but at the cost of poor industrial and commercial development. I went for the vaguely sensible effect but it would be fun to try a catastrophic approach!

 

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