I’m currently in Mechelen, Belgium, for DataMinds Connect, one of my absolute favourite events, with the latest iteration of Digital Snake Oil: Data Literacy in a World of Easy Answers.
Being chosen to speak here is a privilege. There are many times more submissions than available speaking slots, and I know how much good material the organisers have to choose between. Getting to return, with a session I care deeply about, means a great deal.
First, though: Mechelen. I love this city. It has that combination of sleepy student-town atmosphere and gorgeous architecture that makes walking somewhere take considerably longer than planned. There is usually another building worth looking at, and rarely a compelling reason to hurry past it.
Returning to a place you enjoy gives a conference trip a particular rhythm. There is less pressure to see everything, and more pleasure in simply being there again. I’m looking forward to leaving room for the city between the sessions and conversations.
The event itself inspires a rather different pace. The sponsor booths sold out in two minutes.
Two. Minutes.
I suspect choosing where to put the sponsor logo takes longer than that.
Between the competition for speaking slots and the demand from sponsors, there is clearly something here that people want to be part of. Having been before, I understand the attraction. DataMinds Connect is one of the events I particularly hope to return to each year, and getting that acceptance never feels routine.
My session deals with a problem that keeps giving me reasons to revisit it: answers are becoming easier to obtain, while judging their quality still requires work.
A convincing explanation can arrive in seconds. It can be clearly written, confidently presented and accompanied by a chart. None of those things tells us whether the underlying reasoning holds up.
What does the data actually support? Which assumptions have disappeared into the explanation? What would we need to check before acting on the result?
Those questions sit at the heart of Digital Snake Oil. As our tools become better at producing plausible answers, data literacy becomes an increasingly practical skill. We need to recognise when an answer deserves confidence, when it needs investigation, and when we simply don’t have enough information yet.
I’m looking forward to bringing the latest version of that discussion to Mechelen, and to the conversations it starts afterwards.
There is another reason this year’s event feels particularly special. I’ve been mentoring Marilou Puissant, an exceptional woman as she takes her first steps into public speaking, and she’ll be presenting on Copilot - so the rest of us don’t have to.
She has impressed me enormously. Working with someone as they develop a session gives you a chance to see the thought and effort behind what eventually appears on stage. It also gives you the slightly frustrating experience of wanting everyone else to see what you’ve already had the privilege of seeing.
I can’t wait for her to have that room.
Preparing my own session is familiar territory. Watching someone I’ve mentored take to the stage brings a different kind of anticipation, and I suspect her session will be one of the highlights of my trip.
A favourite event, a city I’m always happy to return to, a session that continues to evolve, and someone whose speaking journey I’m very glad to be part of. There is a lot to look forward to.
If you’re joinging me at DataMinds Connect, come and say hello. I’d love to hear what you’re working on, which sessions have caught your attention, and where you think we’re accepting easy answers a little too readily.
And leave yourself some time to walk around Mechelen. Look up occasionally. The buildings deserve it.
Original Photo by Eduard Delputte on Unsplash