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integrated computational thinking

Patterns & Data 1: Intro to Patterns & Data

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Step 3 of 8: Patterns and Data in Society
a fingerprint with the word pattern recognition below it

Due to our increasing connectedness, and the inexpensive nature of sensors and computer storage, we generate data at an almost unfathomable rate. Within this data are patterns that can be hard to detect by humans. Modern machine learning techniques can allow computers to look for patterns and learn about underlying behaviors, but this process benefits greatly from a human understanding of how patterns can be detected.

Another important part of the data representation process is being able to generate visuals that help us to digest information more easily. The art of visualizing information is something that humans excel at. Finding patterns in data is the first step to determining what we want to show in our visuals.