A “Daring” History of Data
Data has a story — compelling but complex
For nearly 400 years, the history of data has evolved along side science and society in general. The word is far more ancient, but in the 1640’s it was reborn as something not completely dissimilar to how we know it today. But in those days, it was far more “daring”… or at least it had some interesting context. Let’s see what we can learn.
The word data comes to us from the Latin verb dare (to give). The English dare is actually in no way related… but that is a different article entirely. Latin is a language suited to data. It takes a data table just to define all the variants of a simple verb.
Somewhere near the bottom of this table is the Accusative Supine version — datum. Which is now a noun and a rather weak or passive one. It is only etymology and language, but it is a rather fitting metaphor. After 400 years, data feels weaker and far less active then its namesake.
What happened to all that action?
But wait — I thought Data was the Female Past Perfect Participle…
No you didn’t, unless you are Latin Grammarian. But this seems to be true as well, in which case data is an adjective. It follows that the translation would then be ‘offered’ or ‘given’. This is far more accurate — but less metaphorical. In the end, Latin is complicated — but I still like this site.
The Origin of Data — Henry Hammond
It may be apropos that data & datum were first coined in the works of Henry Hammond. As is often the case, Hammond was a churchman who helped to frame a major component of science. Adding to the color, he wrote on weakness and sin. And just to keep things interesting he alternated between Latin and Middle English with the extra fun of printers short cuts. Did I mention the English Civil War?
Data really couldn’t ask for a more clearly define origin!
Essentially Data is History & Language Translated & Paraphrased
My metaphorical or playful take on this may annoy some of you, but it illustrates and important concept. Data is history captured through language. You will note that numbers have yet to enter this story. We all think of data as numbers but there is a reason we don’t have numerabases and numera warehouses. Although perhaps we should…?
Regardless, the usage and success of data is dependent on having an accurate set of labels (language), a strong grasp of prior events (history), a great process for capturing it (translation), and discipline in how it is aggregated or simplified (paraphrasing). Numbers are effectively one of the deepest forms of simplification. Context and structure matter greatly and everything has a risk of getting lost in the complexity. It is truly a daring history.
Keep this in mind as you work with data. Few people do. Data is often conflated with facts and information. While it plays a part in their stories as well, little data rises to the standards of those terms without significant work and discipline. Thanks for reading!
For more on data & information consider:
