What do books, brains, and the Internet have in common? They’re full of all kinds of data.

We are so surrounded with information that data often doesn’t even register with us as anything special. Data has become ordinary, something we become linked to more and more each day. Technology has even allowed us to wear items that track data about how much we move, where we’ve been…so many things. Hell, this podcast is full of data. Granted, it’s usually talking points about Star Trek and many other things, but when you stop and think about data, it’s hard not to be amazed by the time in which we live.

Obviously, this week, we’re talking all about data.

We begin with the first time we were aware of the massive amount of information out there — when we realized there was more data out there than we could possibly know. After that, we talk about right now — how all this data affects us as a species. Are we better off…or worse? We also discuss the first time we experienced data overload.

What humans do with data is always interesting. We talk about whether or not we make more decisions based on data or on feeling…before asking if, given enough data, if it’s possible to predict future events.

We provide a lot of data to social networks. If someone were to die suddenly, how feasible would it be to make an accurate facsimile of that person in virtual space, using only data collected from the Internet? We give that thought some time before moving on to how concerned we are by how much data is collected about us on a daily basis — and how much personal data about us is online.

It’s no secret that personal data is big business. Marketers salivate for data. We talk about some of the slimiest uses of personal data we’ve seen and whether or not we’ll reach a point where too much data about us will be out there.

We end the episode discussing the future of data and how it will be used.

As always, feel free to provide data about this episode in the comments below!

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