The Art of Data Science

Abstract: To flourish in the new data-intensive environment of 21st century science, we need to evolve new skills. These can be expressed in terms of the systemized framework that formed the basis of mediaeval education - the trivium (logic, grammar, and rhetoric) and quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy). However, rather than focusing on number, data is the new keystone. We need to understand what rules it obeys, how it is symbolized and communicated and what its relationship to physical space and time is. In this paper, we will review this understanding in terms of the technologies and processes that it requires. We contend that, at least, an appreciation of all these aspects is crucial to enable us to extract scientific information and knowledge from the data sets which threaten to engulf and overwhelm us.