At Keen IO, we’re big believers in using intuition *and* information to make decisions, which is why we are so excited to have John Cook, a world-class mathematician, come speak at KeenCon. We couldn’t wait until September and lucky for us, John provided us with a sneak-peek into his life and what he plans to discuss.
1. What is it that you build / make / create / think about / love / do?
I love to make connections. I connect mathematics with real-world problems, and that usually requires making connections with people and with computers as well.
2. What is the greatest thing you’ve ever made, discovered, explored, or built?
The most important thing I’ve ever made is a marriage and a family. On a more technical note, I’ve built software to apply Bayesian statistics to cancer treatment.
3. At Keen, we’re really big on Invention, Information, and Intuition — especially when they work together. How do these concepts interplay in what you do?
A big part of what I do is bring information and intuition together by fitting mathematical models to the real world. I use intuition to create models and information to test whether these models fit reality, and if they do, use the information in combination with the model to learn.
4. We think it’s great when people build off of platforms to make even cooler stuff. What platforms have you found yourself working off of in your field?
For the first part of my career, I built on Microsoft’s development platform. More recently I’ve been using the scientific Python stack and Haskell.
5. Could you give us a hint what you’ll be talking about at KeenCon? ❤
Sure. I’ll be talking about integrating intuition and data with Bayesian analysis. This is a mathematical framework for expressing what you believe, including your uncertainty, and rationally updating your beliefs as data become available.
Join us at KeenCon to see John and some other pretty smart folks talk about data and platforms. We hope to see you there!
