3 Lessons Data Scientists Can Learn from World War II
summary
Three WWII case studies translate into concrete mistakes and fixes: the Norden bombsight is an analog computer built in 1927, cost 1.5 billion dollars (1940s) and 90,000 units are bought yet missions show 85,000 bombs → 10 hits because it requires low altitude and clear sight; Columbia’s Statistical Research Group via Abraham Wald sees survivorship bias and redirects armor toward engines after observing returned planes; a 4,000‑pilot anthropometry survey with 132 measures finds zero pilots match the average, prompting modular cockpits instead of one “average” design.
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chapters (25)
- 0:00Introduction
- 1:40Fun Facts About Shrewsbury
- 3:55The Elephant in the Room
- 5:27A Closer Look
- 6:59Florida Man - Takeaways
- 8:42The Great War
- 10:35Carl Norden (1880-1965)
- 11:38Norden Bombsight Mark XV
- 16:15Norden Bombsight - Takeaways
- 19:16Armour to the Rescue
- 20:51The Dream Team (of nerds)
- 22:15Epilogue (2/3)
- 24:45Politicians
- 28:21Customer Satisfaction Surveys
- 28:50High-rise syndrome in cats
- 30:27Survival Bias - Takeaways
- 31:21The Flaw of Averages
- 32:14Build a Better Cockpit
- 32:51Spoiler Alert
- 33:43A Mega Project
- 36:40A 142 Page Masterpiece
- 36:58Theory Meets Practice
- 37:18Negotiating With the Data
- 39:35Flaw of Averages - Takeaways
- 41:12Conclusion & Takeaways
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