We are stoked to introduce ARTH, the official mascot of datacritics.com, after much deliberation about who we are.
This robot is named after Arthur Lee Samuel, a pioneer in the field of computer gaming and artificial intelligence who coined the term “machine learning” (thanks to Jake Daniels for your endless factoids).
“From 1949 through the late 1960s, he did the best work in making computers learn from their experience. His vehicle for this was the game of checkers. Programs for playing games often fill the role in artificial intelligence research that the fruit fly Drosophila plays in genetics.”¹
Arthur Samuel’s spirit of fun, creativity and curiosity exemplifies what we at datacritics.com aspire to. The seeming simplicity of the design is a reflection of this spirit.
Datacritics.com started with a “let’s learn and learn along with us” agenda. In a matter of weeks, we realized we needed to let our humanity shine alongside the data. We have since expanded our content strategy from a single “Learning” pillar to include “Perspective” and “Innovation.”
Now for the fun part. The robot is NOT what a data analyst or scientist is, but the inner child in all of us who sees the world with curiosity. So keep smiling.
Why ARTH and not Arthur? This is a play on the notion that data analysis is the intersection of art and science. [For additional context, the word “arth” in Hindi अर्थ translates to “meaning.”]
Do remember that the “art” part also means a level of subjectivity. What is art? This is best summed up by Paul Gauguin: “Art is either a plagiarist or a revolutionary.”² This is the part of our job that will be consistently challenged and questioned. Stay humble and open.
In terms of the colour, we finally settled on orange, as it is the colour of joy and creativity. We shied away from the typical blue that we see on many data science outfits. We love what we do and hope to do more and actually make a difference.
The rebranding has sharpened our manifesto, purpose and focus. Most importantly, I got to know the team even better in terms of who they are as individuals, beyond programming talk.
There is more to data science than bit-byte-kilobyte-megabyte-gigabyte-terabyte-petabyte-exabyte-zettabyte-yottabyte. Don’t forget, #DataisFun!
¹http://infolab.stanford.edu/pub/voy/museum/samuel.html
²https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Pathos_of_Distance.html?id=i24RAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y
datacritics 
0 comments on “#DataIsFun: “Hello, world! Meet ARTH :)””