Data Disasters 2021.12.03
Channel: Emily Cukier
Date: 2021-12-14

Join WSU Science Librarian Emily Cukier (Twitter @ecukier) on a romp through some of history’s colossal failures in record keeping and learn to protect yourself against making the same mistakes.

Links:
How to avoid hard-coding constants:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5WduwiKzsQ
The difference between absolute and relative cell references:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDg9s7BJ2m4

References:
“Bit Flip | Radiolab.” WNYC Studios, https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/bit-flip. Accessed 29 Oct. 2021.

Cavanagh, Michael, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Management Task Force. Report of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Management Task Force Regarding 2012 CIO Losses. 16 Jan. 2013, https://web.archive.org/web/20150218005954/http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ONE/2272984969x0x628656/4cb574a0-0bf5-4728-9582-625e4519b5ab/Task_Force_Report.pdf.

European Spreadsheet Risks Interests Group. “EuSpRIG Horror Stories.” EuSpRIG, 2021, http://www.eusprig.org/horror-stories.htm.

Gates, Charlie. “Buskers Fest Lost Money Last Year Due to ‘Spreadsheet Error.’” Stuff, 8 Apr. 2018, https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/102889835/buskers-fest-lost-money-last-year-due-to-spreadsheet-error.

Heller, Matthew. “Spreadsheet Error Costs Tibco Shareholders $100M.” CFO, 17 Oct. 2014, https://www.cfo.com/spreadsheets/2014/10/spreadsheet-error-costs-tibco-shareholders-100m/.

Hermans, Felienne, and Emerson Murphy-Hill. “Enron’s Spreadsheets and Related Emails: A Dataset and Analysis.” 2015 IEEE/ACM 37th IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering, vol. 2, 2015, pp. 7–16. IEEE Xplore, https://doi.org/10.1109/ICSE.2015.129.

Herndon, Thomas, et al. Does High Public Debt Consistently Stifle Economic Growth? A Critique of Reinhart and Rogoff. Political Economy Research Institute, 15 Apr. 2013, https://peri.umass.edu/publication/item/526-does-high-public-debt-consistently-stifle-economic-growth-a-critique-of-reinhart-and-rogoff.

Kelso, Paul. “London 2012 Olympics: Lucky Few to Get 100m Final Tickets after Synchronised Swimming Was Overbooked by 10,000.” The Telegraph, 4 Jan. 2012, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/8992490/London-2012-Olympics-lucky-few-to-get-100m-final-tickets-after-synchronised-swimming-was-overbooked-by-10000.html.

Mars Climate Orbiter Mishap Investigation Board. Mars Climate Orbiter Mishap Investigation Board Phase I Report. NASA Office of Space Science, 10 Nov. 1999, https://llis.nasa.gov/llis_lib/pdf/1009464main1_0641-mr.pdf.

McDonald, Joe. “AG: State Overpaid Stroudsburg Nearly $500K.” Pocono Record, 29 July 2019, https://web.archive.org/web/20190729232949/https://www.poconorecord.com/news/20190729/ag-state-overpaid-stroudsburg-nearly-500k.

Murphy, David. “State Fund for Jobs Loses €750k Due to ‘Human Error.’” Raidió Teilifís Éireann, 26 Nov. 2019, https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2019/1126/1095303-human-error-cost-ntma-750-000-on-an-investment/.

Nissen, Hans JoМ€rg. Archaic Bookkeeping : Early Writing and Techniques of Economic Administration in the Ancient Near East. Chicago, Ill. : University of Chicago Press, 1993.

Parker, Matt. Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World. Penguin Publishing Group, 2020.

Pollin, Robert, and Michael Ash. “Reinhart and Rogoff Are Wrong about Austerity.” Financial Times, 3 Apr. 2017, https://peri.umass.edu/images/wp322FT_Pollin_Ash.pdf.

Powell, S. G., et al. “Errors in Operational Spreadsheets: A Review of the State of the Art.” 2009 42nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2009, pp. 1–8. IEEE Xplore, https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2009.197.

Russell, Angel. “SLO County Budget Surplus Now a Deficit after ‘Human Error.’” San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Area News, 25 Oct. 2017, https://web.archive.org/web/20171028080739/http://www.ksby.com/story/36685143/slo-county-budget-surplus-now-deficit-after-human-error.

Villas-Boas, Antonio. “Tech Companies Have Been Silently Battling a Bizarre Phenomenon Called ‘cosmic Rays’ That Would Otherwise Wreak Havoc on Our Electronics.” The Business Insider, 2 July 2019, https://ntserver1.wsulibs.wsu.edu:2120/document/?pdmfid=1516831&crid=9d184126-9f7d-4a18-b58f-0fe1b206763e&pddocfullpath=%2Fshared%2Fdocument%2Fnews%2Furn%3AcontentItem%3A5WG9-RM91-JCMN-Y4MT-00000-00&pdcontentcomponentid=299488&pdteaserkey=sr1&pditab=allpods&ecomp=xzvnk&earg=sr1&prid=6f066b84-e068-44bd-8f50-73caa7511def.

Ward, Andrew. “Canopy Growth Refiles MD&A After Spreadsheet Formula Error.” Benzinga, 22 Feb. 2019, https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/19/02/13228789/canopy-growth-refiles-md-a-after-spreadsheet-formu.

Wood, Zoe. “Conviviality Seeks £50m in Rights Issue after Financial Errors.” The Guardian, 16 Mar. 2018. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/mar/16/conviviality-uk-drinks-retailer-seeks-rights-issue-after-catastrophic-financial-errors.

Zeissler, Arwin G., et al. “JPMorgan Chase London Whale A: Risky Business.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2014. DOI.org, https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2577827.