A perspective on 'Big Data'

Many of the lessons learned with what passed for big data in the 1980s still apply today. The lessons have to do with deciding whether something is true or merely useful, the role of human creativity in posing questions, the treatment of hypotheses and the role of theory in data mining, skill development, and organizational dynamics. This essay details what has changed in the present era of 'big data', what has remained the same, what we may learn, and what promise the future holds. Important highlights include the role of executives in building a data-based decision culture, and the potential of big data for analyzing diversity rather than regression to means.