Anthropology Meets Math w/ Stephen Paff
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Anthropology Meets Math w/ Stephen Paff
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On the latest episode of AnthroPuzzled, we sit down with data scientist and entrepreneur Stephen Paff who blends anthropology, math, and machine learning to understand people through data.
With a background in both anthropology and mathematics, he approaches data science as a social science at its core, using technical tools to answer questions about human behavior, decision-making, and culture. His work spans high-stakes environments, from analyzing data during COVID-19 in a New York hospital system to leading large-scale insights work at Google.
Now, as the founder of Idea Corner LLC, he applies a bottom-up, anthropological approach to building products, focusing on what people actually need rather than forcing top-down solutions. He also breaks down misconceptions about math and programming, emphasizing that these are learnable skills and encouraging students to explore data science in accessible ways before committing to advanced degrees.
Listen now to explore how anthropology is reshaping data science, and why understanding people is at the center of it all.