#data in science

[infoanalysishub]

Data: Definition, Meaning, History, Usage, Synonyms & More

Explore the word “data” with in-depth definitions, usage in computing and science, grammar rules, synonyms, origin, and translations. Data Pronunciation:/ˈdeɪ.tə/ (DAY-tuh) – Common in American English/ˈdɑː.tə/ (DAH-tuh) – Common in British English Definitions and Meanings 1. Plural Noun (primarily in scientific and technical contexts) Facts and statistics collected together for reference or…

[reasonsforhope]

If you're feeling anxious or depressed about the climate and want to do something to help right now, from your bed, for free...

Start helping with citizen science projects

What's a citizen science project? Basically, it's crowdsourced science. In this case, crowdsourced climate science, that you can help with!

You don't need qualifications or any training besides the slideshow at the start of a project. There are a lot of things that humans can do way better than machines can, even with only minimal training, that are vital to science - especially digitizing records and building searchable databases

Like labeling trees in aerial photos so that scientists have better datasets to use for restoration.

Or counting cells in fossilized plants to track the impacts of climate change.

Or digitizing old atmospheric data to help scientists track the warming effects of El Niño.

Or counting penguins to help scientists better protect them.

Those are all on one of the most prominent citizen science platforms, called Zooniverse, but there are a ton of others, too.

Oh, and btw, you don't have to worry about messing up, because several people see each image. Studies show that if you pool the opinions of however many regular people (different by field), it matches the accuracy rate of a trained scientist in the field.

--

I spent a lot of time doing this when I was really badly injured and housebound, and it was so good for me to be able to HELP and DO SOMETHING, even when I was in too much pain to leave my bed. So if you are chronically ill/disabled/for whatever reason can't participate or volunteer for things in person, I highly highly recommend.

Next time you wish you could do something - anything - to help

Remember that actually, you can. And help with some science.

[viktors-sternomastoid]

Viktor's confident smiles - 2/?

[hope-for-the-planet]

World surpasses 40% clean power as renewables see record rise

This is from the Global Electricity Review 2025 by Ember. Although this isn't something you are going to see in newspaper headlines, the progress we made with renewables in 2024 is a pretty big deal and if you're someone who likes a lot of data and graphs it's really worth reading.

I'm going to leave this video here because Hank Green does a better job of covering it than I am going to.

"This to me feels like news. It feels like a big deal. It feels like things are changing, like we are hitting a moment with electricity generation that really does matter. And over the next five years we will hit the point where we are generating less and less energy with fossil fuels every year. That's great. And that's not news. I didn't see anyone covering this [...]. It's not news because it's not bad and it's also not news because it's not like 'we did it, we hit the moment!'."

I think this quote from Hank's video does a good job of encapsulating how the slow, gradual progress that is happening often doesn't make it into the news--because it's not a dramatic emergency or a "we did it, we fully solved climate change!" kind of moment that makes for good headlines.

But that then gives people the idea that we're hardly making any progress on addressing climate change, which is not true at all. The fact that we need to continue to double-down on this progress to do it more and faster does not negate that so much progress has already been made.

[great-and-small]

Yet another scientific article adding to the slowly growing mountain of evidence that suggests we might be able to save the world through bird-watching.

[supernatural-ate-my-face]

Dean's love for Castiel is literally something you can chart the growth of with data points. Just using Dean's reactions after each time Castiel dies.

Season 4: oh wow he died doing the hottest thing ever ('making it up as we go.') Nice.

Season 5: (no time to react before he's back) Are you literal god??

Season 7(first time) denial, then cursing cas out for his choices (ie, choosing crowley instead of dean... Big Feelings on display)

Season 7 (about 3 seconds after the first time in season 7): I'm going to be upset about this the rest of the year, have full on nightmare ptsd from it, and project it onto every relationship and interaction in my life from now on.

Season 8: I will be so traumatized by this that the memories won't even form properly and I won't even be able to SPEAK ABOUT IT AT ALL. Period.

Season 9: only about 6 seconds before he's back, but still a significant amount of wailing his name.

Season 12: depression, rage, eventual suicide

Season 15: Sobbing hysterically. Not even caring that Sam is calling because everyone is dead. Not giving a fuck about any other actual thing in the rest of the world no matter the stakes. Followed by:

'Castiel wants me to live, and I suppose I've internalized the message that I am not a terrible, unworthy person, so I will live and not kill myself so that his sacrifice means something. J/k thank god a fucking rebar. Don't call an ambulance. Don't bring me back. Please let me die.'

We need a chart. I need a chart.

[beemovieerotica]

there needs to be a study about people who participate in research studies repeatedly like this is my 6th medical/scientific trial and honestly at this point let's call it an addiction

[lilgaymac]

what I see when I look down at my petri dish <3

[pandemic-info]

"Any chance we're wrong about Covid?"

It's a valid question many people earnestly think about — even the very cautious.

'it becomes important to ask: "what does the data actually say?"'

Quoting a few good answers from a thread:

"Covid left me disabled in 2020. I know with 100% certainty that I am not wrong about Covid. I live with the proof every minute of every day for the rest of my life."

"The insurance companies and government statisticians care, or rather they have taken an objective interest." > https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNU01074597 > https://insurancenewsnet.com/innarticle/insurance-industry-coalition-forms-non-profit-to-study-excess-mortality

"There are parallels between how governments are responding to COVID-19 and how they responded to tobacco back in the day. “it would be a mistake to assume governments would automatically protect people from a public health threat in the face of more immediate economic considerations…there would be resistance to change that might be costly until evidence to justify it was overwhelming.”" > https://johnsnowproject.org/insights/merchants-of-doubt/

"I suspect most of us entertain this thought from time to time, especially when it’s this absurdly difficult and lonely to maintain a Covid Conscious lifestyle. But it’s important to remember that history is littered with people making terrible choices en masse: with handling past pandemics, the holocaust, slavery, witch burnings, etc. Hell pretty much everyone used to smoke and putting lead in everything was A-ok. Just because a lot of people believe something doesn’t mean they’re right. So it becomes important to ask what does the data actually say? The research and the statistical data on this subject paint an ugly but fairly quantifiable picture by which we can gauge our understanding of the situation and our choices in response to it. Read the science. Look at the data on things like Long Covid. There are also many of us who have already had our health absolutely ravaged by this virus or lost loved ones to it etc., and everyone in that position has first hand evidence for how dangerous this virus is. It’s tremendously difficult to swim against the current like we are and self-doubt is natural in those conditions, but that’s when seeking out factual information on the subject is the best course of action."

"But what it all comes back to for me is - say we're wrong, and covid is a big nothingburger and lockdowns are the root of all evil. Ok, well, what I'm doing is acting on the best information available to me at this time to protect my family. I can't regret that. I will always be able to look my kids in the eye and say "I did my best with what I had."" ... So if we're wrong - well, we wore masks, changed our social habits, reduced our consumerism and our contribution to the destruction of our planet, and reduced how often we got sick. None of those things are bad. If they're wrong, they and their kids are screwed. I'd rather err on the side of caution.

[politijohn]

Source

[itscolossal]

Lidar-Derived Aerial Maps Reveal the Dramatic Meandering Changes in River Banks Over Millennia

[thehauntedrocket]

Elementary Dear Data...

Art by Rachael Stott

[hadesoftheladies]

”you’re biased against men!” but am I wrong?

[scipunk]

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

[omg-snakes]

Help Us Do Real Science!

@talesfromtreatment and I have an ask for our fellow corn snake keepers and breeders.

We're gathering information on corn snake size by age and we need community scientists like you to provide the largest possible body of data.

@talesfromtreatment will be using the information gathered to build an accurate, statistics-supported corn snake growth and feeding guide based on ACTUAL data from ACTUAL corn snake keepers like you! I'm just the numbers gal.

Here's what we need:

Your snake's age (in years)

Your snake's weight (in grams)

A top-down photo of your snake's entire body with an inch or centimeter reference. (see photo below)

All of this information entered in our online form, linked below or copy/pasta: https://forms.gle/QtAwmiFa6fpBewFs8

https://forms.gle/QtAwmiFa6fpBewFs8

We'd love to get data on older snakes, younger snakes, fatter snakes, skinnier snakes. If you've got a corn snake we want their age, weight, and a photo of them with a measuring device.

Photos don't need to be fancy, just give us a top-down view of your snake and a ruler/tape measure/yardstick on a flat surface.

The survey is anonymous and we won't share your photos with anyone nor use them for any purpose beyond collecting morphometric data for this specific study.

Please please please help us collect as much data as possible. Share with your reptile-keeping friends, signal boost, submit your metrics, and stay tuned for updates!

https://forms.gle/QtAwmiFa6fpBewFs8