600: quantum of sollazzo
#600: quantum of sollazzo – 11 March 2025
The data newsletter by @puntofisso.
Hello, regular readers and welcome new ones :) This is Quantum of Sollazzo, the newsletter about all things data. I am Giuseppe Sollazzo, or @puntofisso. I've been sending this newsletter since 2012 to be a summary of all the articles with or about data that captured my attention over the previous week. The newsletter is and will always (well, for as long as I can keep going!) be free, but you're welcome to become a friend via the links below.
Wow, THIS IS ISSUE NUMBER 600! I am in year 13 of sending Quantum. Why do I keep going? It's because I keep learning a lot by writing this newsletter. It's been a fun adventure thus far. I started in 2012 in what looked like an entirely different world. It was before the London Olympics, and before I had "data" in my job title. This newsletter has allowed me to engage with some amazing people working in data in all sectors. While data journalists and public sector data folks have always been the largest reader cohort, it has sometimes expanded in unexpected directions.
It was through readers of this newsletter that I got invited to speak at csv,conf,v7 (thank you Naomi! And look below for an announcement on csv,conf,v9) and TRGCON (¡gracias, David!); it was through readers of this newsletter that I was offered an interesting gig with PowerToChange; it was through readers of this newsletter that I learned more about data projects that I had missed (Guy and Peter have been particularly consistent over the years – thank you!). I've had a few people supporting me over time, including as sponsors – some of which are returning sponsors, such as ProofRed, OpenCageData, and the EDJNet. Thank you.
To all you 4,000+ readers: thank you. I will keep going for as long as I keep learning. Thank you for encouraging me and sharing your views with me.
The most clicked link last week was Geoffrey Huntley's intriguing article about the changing engineering job market in an AI-driven world: Dear Student: Yes, AI is here, you're screwed unless you take action...
It's AMA o'clock! This is the Quantum of Sollazzo Ask Me Anything section.
AMA – Ask Me Anything by submitting a question via this anonymous Google form. If there are many questions, I'll select a few every 4-5 weeks and answer them on here :-) Don't be shy!
The csv,conf,v9 CALL FOR PROPOSALS is now open:
Submit your talk at https://www.csvconf.com.
The Quantum of Sollazzo grove now has 25 trees. It helps managing this newsletter's carbon footprint. Check it out at Trees for Life.
'till next week,
Giuseppe @puntofisso.bsky.social
✨ Topical
The Premier League’s Set-Piece Arms Race Has Only Just Begun
"The influence of set-piece coaches in the Premier League seems to have grown significantly in recent years, but how much of an impact have they had, and is it just a fad?"
Which industries employ the most immigrant workers?
USAFacts: "About 5.5 million foreign-born workers — nearly a fifth of the immigrant workforce — work in education and health services."
Brain food, delivered daily
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🛠️📖 Tools & Tutorials
Keep your AI conversations private
This tool offers to "transform sensitive text into anonymous data in just one click, while maintaining full context for AI tools."
(via Erika Atzori)
GeoJson-ai.com
"Instantly Generate GeoJSON Polygons and Multipolygons for Administrative Boundaries on the fly!"
A classic of: you need to know in order to make it work well. Try London boroughs, for example.
(via Geomob)
Palette Generator
🤯 Data thinking
A picture worth 1000 lines of code
"SQL comprehension is a key concept for understanding the next era of dbt and data tooling. At its core - SQL comprehension refers to systems that are able to make sense of SQL code."
📈Dataviz, Data Analysis, & Interactive
Mapping the University of Chicago’s 135-Year Expansion into Hyde Park and Beyond
The Chicago Maroon (the independent student newspaper of the University of Chicago) in this astonishingly good scrollytelling article: "In 1890, the newly chartered University of Chicago aimed to “remove the mind of the student from the busy mercantile conditions of Chicago.” Architect Henry Ives Cobb envisioned a campus with one central quadrangle surrounded by six others, spanning 22 acres of land."
Is this miserable London weather for real?!
Elliot Bentley (Datawrapper) charts the weather in London. TL;DR: yes, it's miserable.
TrueSkill Part 1: The Algorithm
"Who is the greatest boxer of all time? Who is the ‘GOAT?’ Is it Muhammad Ali? Mike Tyson? Someone else?
Because they never fought each other, you might say it can’t be known. Indeed, it can’t be known, but it can be estimated."
This is from algorithmic consultancy TrueTheta.
Data Art Gallery
Data art (or data-driven art) lies somewhere between data visualisation and generative art. Where data visualisation aims to accurately represent data to communicate insights, generative art uses algorithms to create unique visuals which often incorporate randomness or predefined rules. Like generative art, the primary aim of data art is artistic impact, rather clarity or analysis. Data art may in fact be though of as a sub-genre of generative art. It allows people to consider visual patterns in data without the bias of knowing what the data is, and can spark conversations on important topics. This gallery displays a variety of data art examples, built with a range of open source tools.
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