The curse of counting and the destiny of data

Abstract

Writing numbers for counting and record-keeping predates the art of writing by a considerable margin. Never in the history of humankind has the urge to count and to measure everything been so prevalent as today. Numbers were traditionally used to count, measure, and label, but simple numbers have transformed into ‘DATA’, which has become an important, intrinsic, and all invasive part of life. Furthermore, the transformation from data to useful knowledge (and maybe some wisdom) requires, inter alia, the application of statistical analysis and mathematical modelling. Two applications illustrating this process will be presented: The possible existence of an association between some human characteristics — for example, neck circumference and general health — will be investigated, and a model based on nonlinear regression presented. A system dynamics model to investigate the dynamic characteristics of a human sub-system will be developed and discussed. This paper is merely an attempt to investigate the possibility and viability of developing data-dependent models of a medical nature.

Die gebruik van getalle met die doelwit om te tel en getalle te stoor is baie ouer as die kuns van lees. Nog nooit in die geskiedenis van die mensdom was die drang om te tel en te meet groter as tans nie. Getalle is tradisioneel gebruik om te tel en te meet maar eenvoudige getalle het verander in ‘DATA’ wat ʼn belangrike en intrinsieke deel geword het van die alledaagse lewe. Die transformasie vanaf data na bruikbare kennis vereis onder andere die gebruik van statistiese analise en wiskundige modellering. Twee toepassings word gebruik om hierdie proses te illustreer: Die moontlike verwantskap tussen byvoorbeeld nekomtrek en algemene gesondheid sal ondersoek word en ʼn regressiemodel sal ontwikkel en bespreek word. ʼn Sisteemdinamikamodel om die dinamiese eienskappe van ʼn menslike subsisteem te ondersoek sal ontwikkel en bespreek word. Hierdie artikel is hoofsaaklik bedoel om die moontlike ontwikkeling van data-afhanklike modelle van ʼn mediese aard te ondersoek.