What are the surprising results?

Here are some surprising findings shared by experts across different fields:

1. Nick Masca's Approach in Data Science: Starting small and using simple methods can yield surprisingly positive results. This approach helps in quickly identifying and resolving potentially big problems without requiring state-of-the-art algorithms 1.

2. Survey on NLP Community: A survey revealed that the scaling hypothesis, which suggests that increasing compute and data will solve major NLP problems, is less widely accepted among researchers than expected. Another surprising result was that a significant majority believes incorporating insights from other fields like cognitive science is essential and under-prioritized 2.

3. Data Science Teamwork and Gender Disparity: A survey found that a third of data scientists often work alone, which is surprising given the collaborative nature of the field. Additionally, about 80% of respondents identified as male, highlighting significant gender disparity 3.

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     1

     Starting Small, Surprising Results

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     2

     Surprising Survey Results

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     3

     Survey Surprises

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     4

     Surprising Experiment Lessons

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     5

     Surprising Mutations

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     6

     Unreliable Experimental Results

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4. A/B Testing at Microsoft: An A/B test intended to improve Windows indexing surprisingly killed laptop battery life due to higher CPU usage. This unexpected negative outcome underscored the importance of considering multiple factors in system design 4.

5. Evolutionary Biology Findings: Mutations in the v1 loop of trim five alpha vastly improved its ability to resist HIV, contrary to the general notion that most mutations are detrimental. This finding indicates an unusual evolutionary flexibility 5.

6. Experimental Reliability in Behavioral Studies: There are concerns about the reliability of surprising, counterintuitive findings in psychology and economics, with many such results losing validity upon repeated testing. This underscores the need for critical evaluation and replication in experimental research 6.