In November, I was asked to come back to my hometown and give a talk at TEDxVancouver. The overarching theme of the event was ‘The Frontier’ – along with me, there would be talking about space, deep-sea science, and spiritual exploration. I decided to frame my talk around what I consider to be a largely un-explored part of the big data conversation that has opened up over the last few years: thinking about data in a human context. I talk a bit about my history with HyperCard, rattle over a series of data-based projects, and end with a call-to-arms for artists, poets, writers and other creatives to join the discourse around data.
I won’t give the whole talk away, since you can watch it for yourself below. As always, I’d love to hear feedback/questions/ridicule – you can leave a comment below, or join in on this already feisty thread on Google+.
4 Comments
I liked your video presentation, thanks for using the word Poet, a rare thing these days. I linked to the video in the comments section of related discussion at my poetry blog. http://wp.me/s28tG9-data
love – really love what you are doing here – am in awe!
I just watched this and your work is both cutting edge and breathtaking…Edward Tufte would be both proud and impressed! Thank you so much for sharing your work!
My work is in mathematics education, but I also have a love affair with representation of quantitative information. I have shared your video among my network….this is a wonderful example of the beautiful and creative and relevant connections that a knowledge of mathematics affords us. Thank you for the inspiration…I will continue to watch and learn! 
This is such a fascinating way to think about data and review information. Thank you for an inspiring presentation!
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[...] TEDxVancouver in November of last year, data artist and NYTLabs artist in residence Jer Thorpe talked about all matters relating to “data” and “history”, meanwhile showcasing his [...]
[...] occurred! At TEDxVancouver in November of last year, data artist and NYTLabs artist in residence Jer Thorpe talked about all matters relating to “data” and “history”, meanwhile [...]
[...] TEDxVancouver in November of last year, data artist and NYTLabs artist in residence Jer Thorpe talked about all matters relating to “data” and “history”, meanwhile [...]
[...] TEDxVancouver in November of last year, data artist and NYTLabs artist in residence Jer Thorpe talked about all matters relating to “data” and “history”, meanwhile [...]