Lessons in Analytics From Stranger Things 003
Will ‘The Wise’ Byers — Instrumentation
Will is an interesting character. He is at the center of both seasons (or years) of Stranger Things. And yet, he is also quite marginal. Will is basically — instrumentation. He provides reports and feedback on what is going on in the “other” dimension.
Much like instrumentation, he is often overlooked or misunderstood. At times, he seems like an afterthought to everyone other than Joyce. Even Mike seems to forget him whenever Elle appears. Will (Instrumentation) is a bit underappreciated.
Much like great instrumentation, Will is able to create a detailed and compelling picture of the situation. While these images are not always understood, they pack a lot of detail and information. Of course, that is only in 1984. In 1983, Will’s instrumentation is a little less effective — being limited to simple messages, codes, and dancing lights. Basically, like any other instrumentation, he has levels of integration and effectiveness.
Also typical of instrumentation, Will occasionally struggles with feedback. He is often overwhelmed by events that are beyond the scope of his designer. Ok, that is a stretch, Will’s challenges may be extreme but they are still exemplary of issues faced by analytic instrumentation the world over. Sometimes feedback is overwhelming. Sometimes a reboot might be helpful.
Instrumentation can make you seem wise, even like a wizard. But, only if you record the right things. While sometimes that is the Stranger Things, more often it is the run-of-the-mill events that make your company, business, or organization function. To that end, Will is manages to make instrumentation quite exciting. Extra-dimensional monsters have a habit of doing that as do scenes from the Exorcist, Close Encounters or others inspired by them.
Instrumentation is a doorway to insight. Without it, we’d have no idea what was going on. The fact that it is often forgotten or overlooked is simply one of the Stranger Things of analytics.
Thanks for reading! More Stranger Things are coming soon..
Be sure to catch our other articles inspired by the series:
