Day 18 & 19: The Book is Coming Together and It Is Beautiful

        Yesterday, I spent the day reading about Data Science programs and areas of research at different universities and research facilities. I was curious to find out about the slight differences between what is considered to be Data Science and Management Information Systems at some schools. I will reflect on the findings later and make a separate note, because I do not think I have a full grasp just yet. Additionally, I will be emailing professors, whose research I found interesting.

        Today, I was invited to listen to a seminar by Wes McKinley, the founder of the Pandas library for Python and UrsaLabs, where he works on ApacheArrow. I learned about the conceptual differences between DataFrames in different languages, and the importance of creating a system, like ApacheArrow, that could convert and manipulate universal DataFrames across different platforms. On a personal note, I was excited to be there as a rookie in Data Science. I was even more excited to be able to understand the majority of the conversation, especially in regards to Data Structures and overhead costs reduction. I hope to learn more about Wes and his work in the following week in hopes that I could get more involved with ApacheArrow and UrsaLabs in the future.

        I spent the majority of the day with Imma and Sandesh, who were working on adapting Chapter 8 of How to Think like a Data Scientist from Jupyter Notebooks to Google Collab. We encountered a problem within the book, and I proposed that we address it with the help of Brad Miller, the founder of Runestone Interactive. I felt empowered to reach out since I have had the experience of working with him. I invited Sandesh and Imma with me because I wanted them to have the experience, as well. I led the conversation, which left almost no room for Imma and Sandesh to speak. As I found out later, however, both Imma and Sandesh were happy I spoke with Brad since I knew most about the issue at hand. Brad agreed that the book needed better and more clear directions in that particular portion, and that our planned adjustments are justified.

        We spent the day in a rabbit hole, trying to resolve one issue. Through a collective effort, we finally got to fix it before the day was over. I explained the use of functions, Sandesh and Imma searched for solutions. After some time, Sandesh found a solution that works, and we were all overjoyed. I know I have said before that I do not imagine myself sitting at my desk and coding for the rest of my life, however, today I really enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment in code. So, who knows? Maybe, I am built for that life.