With easier access to raw computing power, one might think that all it takes is to analyze data and let the data throw hypotheses.

Is theorizing over in this data intensive world ? Has the world become so complicated that theorizing is useless? May be not.

I read this short note(Tom Swift and His Electric Factor Analysis Machine) couple of years back but I always reread it frequently so that I dont make the mistake of living only in an empiricist world. Some amount of apriori assumptions/ hypotheses are required. In the financial world, traders provide this knowledge. It is easier sit at a desk and crunch data and build models. However it might be a complete useless exercise if you do not marry apriori assumptions with your empirical work.

Here is a Link to this beautiful article: Tom Swift and his electric factor analysis machine