Within LUCA, we often talk of “Insights“. Our tools are designed to obtain valuable “Insights”, or “Actionable Insights” that allow a company to make better decisions based on data. But, what exactly does the word “Insight” mean?
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Figure 1: A spiral representing an Insight as a discovery. |
What is an insight?
insight/ˈɪnˌsaɪt/ noun1. The ability to perceive clearly or deeply; penetration2. A penetrating and often sudden understanding, as of a complex situation or problem
By looking at the etymology of the word, we get another interesting definition:
Word Origin and History for insight
c.1200, innsihht, “sight with the eyes of the mind,” mental vision, understanding,” from in + sight. Sense shifted to “penetrating understanding into character or hidden nature” (1580s).
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Figure 2: The process of turning data into Insights. |
Therefore, “Data-Driven” companies are those that speak the language of data, and are as such capable of making more intelligence decisions, based on their own data as well as other sources that are freely available.
One of the challenges for non-English speaking countries is finding a word that conveys the meaning of the word “Insight”. In Spain, for example, the word “clave” (key) can be used but it doesn’t quite encapsulate everything that “Insight” does. As such, the English word is often used. This is a fairly common occurence; technical terms such as Big Data, Machine Learning and Data Science are often kept in the original language.