This will really challenge astronomers to think in a new way. It's just too much for anyone to comprehend. That's where data mining comes in. The practice of combing through huge databases to extract particular kinds of information has already caught hold in the banking and telecommunications industries. Credit card companies use data mining to detect fraud, looking for transactions that don't fit a particular cardholder's buying habits or that typify a crook.
Financial institutions use it to manage investments.
Marketers track visits to Internet Web sites to assess consumer interest in new products. Moore already has established a start-up firm, called Schenley Park Research, to develop data mining tools for biotechnology and manufacturing problems. Astronomers knew they would need similar tools for making sense of the Sloan data. Some questions will be simple, others complex. The sheer volume of questions will make swift answers essential.