Why Following Someone on the Social Media Is Not an Effective Learning Strategy for Data Science1/15/2018 Ever since social media (SM) became a mainstream option for spending one’s time on the web, it has started to disrupt the way we view information and even knowledge to some extent. Even though there is no doubt that SM offer substantial benefits in advertising and branding, there is little they can offer when it comes to actually learning something. Here is why. Even though some articles can be thought-provoking, but consuming information to satisfy your curiosity and actually assimilating it are two different things. This is particularly true when it comes to a technical field, like data science, where being informed about something is barely enough to have an opinion on the topic, let alone do something useful with it. Many people who roam the SM in search of mentors don’t realize that. They tend to forget that following someone in an attempt to learn from them is the equivalent of body-building by just hanging out at the lobby of a gym. Yet, they do it anyway because it’s easy and it doesn’t cost them anything (other than some time, assuming that they read the stuff their leaders post on the SM). If you really want to learn something, especially something complex and multifaceted like data science, you need to get your hands dirty and you have to break a sweat. The various things someone posts on the SM aren’t going to help much. There is a reason why books and videos on the subject sell, even if there is abundant information on the web. Also, in my experience, if a platform doesn’t charge you for the “products” it offers to you, that’s because you are the product! SM are designed with that in mind. Of course, some of them may be worth the time you spend on them since they can be a source of a diverse array of views on a topic (hopefully from different perspectives), but that’s not the same as applicable knowledge. If you want to hone your data science skills you need something you can rely on, not something someone types on the SM while enjoying their morning coffee, to pass the time. So, what can you do, instead of following someone on the SM? There are various strategies, each with its own sets of benefits. Ideally, you would do a combination of them to maximize your learning opportunities. The main ones of these strategies are:
What are your thoughts on the matter? How do you learn data science?
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Zacharias Voulgaris, PhDPassionate data scientist with a foxy approach to technology, particularly related to A.I. Archives
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