Chapter 1. Scala and Data Science

The second half of the 20th century was the age of silicon. In fifty years, computing power went from extremely scarce to entirely mundane. The first half of the 21st century is the age of the Internet. The last 20 years have seen the rise of giants such as Google, Twitter, and Facebook—giants that have forever changed the way we view knowledge.

The Internet is a vast nexus of information. Ninety percent of the data generated by humanity has been generated in the last 18 months. The programmers, statisticians, and scientists who can harness this glut of data to derive real understanding will have an ever greater influence on how businesses, governments, and charities make decisions.

This book strives to introduce some of the tools that you will need to synthesize the avalanche of data to produce true insight.