Python for Data Science For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Introduction

The growth of the internet has been phenomenal. According to Internet World Stats (https://www.internetworldstats.com/emarketing.htm), 69 percent of the world is now connected in some way to the internet, including developing countries. North America has the highest penetration rate 93.4 percent, which means you now have access to nearly everyone just by knowing how to manipulate data. Data science turns this huge amount of data into capabilities that you use absolutely every day to perform an amazing array of tasks or to obtain services from someone else.

You’ve probably used data science in ways that you never expected. For example, when you used your favorite search engine this morning to look for something, it made suggestions on alternative search terms. Those terms are supplied by data science. When you went to the doctor last week and discovered that the lump you found wasn’t cancer, the doctor likely made the prognosis with the help of data science.

In fact, you may work with data science every day and not even know it. Even though many of the purposes of data science elude attention, you have probably become more aware of the data you generate, and with that awareness comes a desire for control over aspects of your life, such as when and where to shop, or whether to have someone perform the task for you. In addition to all its other uses, data science enables you to add that level of control that you, like many people, are looking for today.

Python for Data ...