Faces in the crowd can make Big Data more valuable

Your ability to spot a weird face might be worth big money in this, the dawning era of Big Data. A statistical technique called “Chernoff faces” transforms mulivariate data — numbers that tend to make people feel numb — into quirky/goofy cartoon faces.

Oddball items in the data stand out. You’ll more likely to recognize an unusual face than you will an unusual number….

—so begins today’s Improbable Innovation nugget, which appears in its entirety on BetaBoston.