Big Data Is Often Counterintuitive

How do songwriting collaborations start? And what does the data tell us about who's likely to work together? Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University analyzed an online songwriting community to shed light on this subject, and what they discovered may surprise you. The technique could one day further social science research involving Big Data.

Based on four years of data collected though an international songwriting challenge called February Album Writing Month, or FAWM, the CMU team found that common interests or skills do not cause collaborators to seek each other out.