Author Archives: piersstobbs

Hi everyone- February may technically be the shortest month but it certainly can feel long… I think I sensed a slight brightening in the morning light but I may have been mistaken… Maybe time for a bit of distraction with a wrap up of data science developments in the last month. Don’t miss out onContinue reading “March Newsletter”

Hi everyone- January reminded us (in the UK at least) of the joys of a ‘big coat’ with 2023 definitely off to a cold start… No great change to the depressing headlines though so hopefully time for a bit of distraction with a wrap up of data science developments in the last month. Don’t missContinue reading “February Newsletter”

Hi everyone- 2023- Happy New Year!…Hope you had a fun and festive holiday season or at least drank and ate enough to take your mind off the strikes, energy prices, cost of living crisis, war in Ukraine and all the other depressing headlines… Perhaps time for something a little different, with a wrap up ofContinue reading “January Newsletter”

Hi everyone- Another month, another UK Prime Minister it seems – certainly the rate of political dramas doesn’t seem to be slowing…Perhaps time for a breather, with a wrap up of data science developments in the last month. Following is the November edition of our Royal Statistical Society Data Science and AI Section newsletter- apologiesContinue reading “November Newsletter”

Hi everyone- Well, September certainly seemed to disappear pretty rapidly (along with the sunshine sadly). And dramatic events keep accumulating, from the sad death of the Queen, together with epic coverage of ‘the queue‘, to dramatic counter offensives in the Ukraine, to unprecedented IMF criticism of the UK government’s tax-cutting plans. Perhaps time for aContinue reading “October Newsletter”

Hi everyone- I hope you have all been enjoying a great summer. Certainly lots to engage with from heat waves, sewage spills, leadership elections, spiralling energy costs… and of course on a much more positive note the Lionesses winning the Euros for the first time (it’s come home…)! Apologies for skipping a month but itContinue reading “September Newsletter”

Hi everyone- Welcome to July! Inflation, union strikes, sunshine … lots of commentary drawing parallels to the mid-70s. One thing that is very different from that period is the world of data science (which didn’t even exist as a discipline) – crazy to think that the Apple II launched in ’77 with 4 KB RAM,Continue reading “July Newsletter”

Hi everyone- It’s June already – time flies – and in the UK an extra bank holiday! Perhaps the data science reading materials below might help fill the void now the Jubilee celebrations have finished … Following is the June edition of our Royal Statistical Society Data Science and AI Section newsletter. Hopefully some interestingContinue reading “June Newsletter”

Hi everyone- Another month flies by, and although we had that rarest of occasions in the UK – a sunny Easter weekend – the news in general continues to be depressing: law breakers at the highest ranks of government, covid infections high, and of course the devastating war in Ukraine. Hopefully the data science readingContinue reading “May Newsletter”

Hi everyone- The news from Ukraine is truly devastating and brings a huge dose of perspective to our day to day lives in the UK. I know I for one care rather less about fixing my python package dependencies when I see the shocking scenes from Mariupol… However, those of us more distant from theContinue reading “April Newsletter”

Hi everyone- Another month flies by – at least it finally seems to be getting a bit lighter in the mornings although I fear sunny spring days are still a way off… I imagine you are suffering withdrawal from a lack of dramatic Olympics Curling action so perhaps some thought provoking data science reading materialsContinue reading “March Newsletter”