What’s in a Name? How We Named Patterns

Anyone who has ever named anything, whether that’s a child or a cuddly toy, knows the difficulty of choosing the right name. Sometimes it helps to canvass the public for opinions, but that can be risky and the results can be less sensible than intended (see the cautionary example of Boaty McBoatface, among many others). A new journal’s name is potentially even harder, because this is the first thing new readers and authors will know about it, and it will set their perceptions of what the journal is about. A new journal also comes into a field crowded with other journals, where all the obvious and clear names are already taken. So, what were we looking for when it came to a name? We wanted it to be distinctive; short and snappy for preference, without needing any other explanation. A name that sums up what the journal is all about. Patterns is about sharing data science solutions across multiple domains, which is a tricky thing to sum up in one word. We couldn’t name it something as simple and clear as “Data Science,” because that name was already taken, as were a whole host of other data-related names. We had to get creative. To cut a long story short, after much debating, our creative colleagues came up with "Patterns," and as a name it really resonated with us. First, and most importantly, looking for patterns in data is what scientists do. Data scientists take that one step further in that they’re using complicated algorithms to tease knowledge from messy, noisy, and complicated datasets, looking for patterns that can tell us something new about the structure of our world. Second, it will come as no surprise that the editor-in-chief is a bit of a crafting as well as a data geek. A pattern in craft, software, or architecture is a set of instructions and guidance that allows a reader to recreate the thing described in the pattern, when that has been designed and tested by someone else. Sharing patterns allows people to build on well-developed techniques and technologies, without having to design everything from scratch. Using the knitting analogy, a pattern allows the knitter to create a brand new instance of a hat, customized to their needs and taste, without having to do all the important and necessary preparation work of calculating how the number of stitches in a given row have to change to get the right curve for the finished hat, based on what thickness wool and needle size is used. This secondary meaning, sharing guidance on how to do a thing that had already been done by someone else, really resonates. You can dig even more into that analogy in that patterns are often standardized with common structure and vocabulary that are shared around their community, something that is increasingly common when dealing with data too. Third, "Patterns" hearkens back to the history of computer science and programmable computing. The first programmable machines used regularly in a production setting were the Jacquard machines, which used punch cards to enable fabrics to be woven in far more complicated designs than had previously been possible. That punch card technology was an important step in the development of the computers that we know and use today. In this issue of Patterns, we continue with the broad scope and cross-domain themes shown in earlier issues. As always, no matter how diverse the subject matter, certain common data topics recur. In this issue, we’re delighted to showcase not one but two Descriptor Articles (McGrath and Rubens) along with two original Research Articles (Aparicio and Zhang), and a Review (Khater), all from the biological sciences. Our Creations (Lee) and one of the Opinions (Rougeux) are both on the subject of data visualization, although in completely different ways and of very different data. On the theme of trust, we have an Opinion (Hand), a Preview (Kind), and a Perspective (Marsh). And finally, always remembering the people who produce and are the subject of data, we have a People of Data piece (Brown) on the individual level, and an Opinion (Mendaro) that views from a country scale. Naming, labeling, and categorizing are all a fundamental part of communication, and of science itself. At the end of the day, the name “Patterns” speaks for itself, but I hope this glimpse into the reasoning behind the choice of it as a name gives a greater understanding of what it is we want to achieve.