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data-dredging-mirages
The phenomenon where massive data analysis produces coincidental patterns that may appear meaningful but are often statistical noise.
1 chapter across 1 book
Rainbows End (2007)Vernor Vinge
Chapter 2
The chapter details a public health scare involving a Pseudomimivirus epidemic initially detected by hobbyists before official agencies could respond, exposing vulnerabilities in disease surveillance systems. Günberk Braun, an obsessive EU intelligence agent, uses this event and a subsequent anomalous marketing data spike to uncover a covert biological weapons test, revealing a new, highly precise and insidious form of biowarfare. Braun's investigation leads to the terrifying realization of a looming threat far beyond previous biological attacks.