Matthew Fontaine Maury: The 19th-Century Forerunner of Big Data [Historical]

Computer speed and web interconnectivity are allowing us to manage and process data at unprecedented levels. In the past two decades, we have discovered new paradigms for extracting valuable information from such data, and it is very likely that this process has only just begun. These paradigms have resulted in market and financial forecasts of huge economic importance. The companies positioned to exploit them are creating new, powerful empires that navigate in often unexplored seas of opportunities in which regulations are weak and governmental actions against unconventional management techniques are frequent.