More Data Is Better Than None

In previous post we talked about how lots of data can make a difference in some application, not in others. But of course, more data is always better than none. I am trying to find data on Earth’s crust, its composition in a resolution of, say, down to 100 meters.. and there is none. We have the tools to store, visualize, process and disseminate such data, yet we do not have data itself.

Maybe we need a data collection of effort on the scale of Google’s StreetView for earth crust data (as well as other things) w/ ppl poking equipment in the ground all over the world.

We still lack a lot of data like this that can be used by scientists, amateur or otherwise. Researchers funded by taxpayers are also sitting on data that can be useful for modelers, we saw this in Scholarly-Industrial Complex post). Releasing data to all can do magic, the Goldscorp example in Wikinomics book (Donald Tapscott) comes to mind.