👟 Sold Their Sole
A forest bird never wants a cage
Welcome to the one hundred and eighteenth issue of Monday Morning Data Science from the Fred Hutch Data Science Laboratory. We are excited to show you what we have been working on (Fresh from the Lab), plus links that we think you would be interested in (Our Weekly Bookmarks Bar). Part of the purpose of this newsletter is to start conversations, so if you have a question or there is something you would like to share with us please let us know by responding directly to this email.
Our Weekly Bookmarks Bar
[Blog Post: You Need to Make AI Guidelines for Your Lab] Professor Ran Blekhman writes about how generative AI is rapidly becoming embedded in academic research, offering powerful productivity benefits but creating uncertainty, especially for trainees who lack clear guidance and risk bypassing essential learning. He writes that while AI can enhance experts’ work, it may undermine skill development in students by automating critical thinking tasks, making it crucial for labs to establish norms that prioritize building expertise before relying on AI.
[Blog Post: A Grammar of Graphics for SQL] Posit introduces ggsql, a new visualization tool that brings the grammar of graphics into SQL. Create familiar (ggplot2-like), flexible, composable visualizations directly within query syntax across environments like notebooks and VS Code. It aims to simplify and scale data visualization without requiring full programming languages, leveraging SQL’s declarative structure and compatibility with LLMs while emphasizing performance, extensibility, and ease of integration.
[Blog Post: The Peril of Laziness Lost] Bryan Cantrill argues that true “laziness” in programming, reflecting values like simplicity through thoughtful abstraction, is a virtue that leads to better, more maintainable software, even though it requires deep effort upfront. In contrast, unchecked use of LLMs can encourage quantity over quality, producing bloated, poorly structured systems unless guided by human judgment that prioritizes simplicity and long-term clarity.
As always you can contact us by replying directly to this email, or if you work within the Fred Hutch/University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Cancer Consortium you are welcome to join us on the Fred Hutch Data Slack Workspace. For more information about the Fred Hutch Data Science Lab, visit our website: https://ocdo.fredhutch.org/. See you in two weeks!
- The Fred Hutch Data Science Laboratory