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Jeff Muday
Treehouse Moderator 28,722 PointsNote that column J (which was deleted) contained some very important data.
Ben Detich (the presenter) talked about how data is all around us and can be used to inform analyses as well as to help tell interesting stories and show "hidden truths." And this dataset does.
I have a particular interest in wearable, assistive technologies so I noticed something special hiding in the data we cleaned. I recalled reading a story earlier this year about differently-abled marathon competitors and wanted to see if it was marked in the dataset.
Column J (which had no heading and appeared empty) did contain codes further down the column for some participants. "VI" denoted "visual impairment" and "MI" denoted "mobility impairment." This column could be important for analysis or calling attention to participants who overcame greater competitive challenges.
Below is a link to a very interesting story about "wearable technology" which has a sidebar about Erich Manser from Littleton MA (in our dataset)!
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/05/sports/blind-marathoner-technology.html
pullquote --
In April, Erich Manser of Littleton, Mass., ran the Boston Marathon using a service for the blind and visually impaired called Aira. Manser wore smart glasses, which streamed video of the course to a guide in Columbus, Ohio, who assisted him with short voice commands such as “runner passing on the right,” “you’re on the yellow line,” “clear path ahead” and “cups” for the litter at water stops.
4 Answers
Steven Parker
231,275 PointsExcellent observations, and I'll tag Ben Deitch here to make it more likely for this to catch his attention.
But as a more expedient and certain way to report this to the staff, I recommend you do so following the instructions for reporting bugs on the Support page. They might post a correction by adding a "Teacher's Notes" tab to the page (and you may get a "special Exterminator badge"!).
Jeff Muday
Treehouse Moderator 28,722 PointsI like what Ben is doing with this course. I didn't think it was purposeful to exclude the column as Treehouse is a welcoming and inclusive community -- Treehouse instructors unfailingly emphasize that there is always more than one way to solve a problem, more than one interpretation of data, and to always search for something unique to make your portfolio and projects express your individuality.
Alejandro Narvaja
Courses Plus Student 7,340 PointsWhat a great detail you have seen Jeff, it is true what you say. It would be nice to read an opinion on this from Ben Detich.
I suppose that this data was not necessary for the final objective of the course, but it is not bad to talk about it since it is curious and very interesting.
lisablue
1,392 PointsI would say for folks who this subject is new to, an easy way to see if a huge data set has truly empty columns, etc. is to highlight the header line (in this case row 1), and apply filters. Then, by dropping down each column's filter, you can see easily if it truly is unpopulated or not. Just a thought. And yes, excellent catch on that one!