Publications by George Mount
Python-Powered Excel (O’Reilly Online Learning)
I’m pleased to present a new O’Reilly Online Learning session on Python-Powered Excel on Friday Sept 18th at 12p Eastern.The session is free to attend for all subscribers to the fantastic O’Reilly Online Learning platform. Check your employer or university for an institutional account, or really, consider signing up — and not just for thi...
2809 sym 2 img
What is the “data analytics stack?”
A poor craftsman blames his tools. But if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.It’s common for web developers or database adminstrators to refer to their “stack” of tools used to do the job, but I’ve never heard this moniker used for data analysts. So it got me thinking, what is the data analytics stack?Data analysts mak...
5927 sym 2 img
Python for Excel Users: First Steps (O’Reilly Media Online Learning)
I’m pleased to present a new O’Reilly Online Learning session entitled “Python for Excel Users: First Steps” on Friday October 30th at 12p Eastern.The session is free to attend for all subscribers to the fantastic O’Reilly Online Learning platform. Check your employer or university for an institutional account, or really, ...
4007 sym 2 img
Learning guide: Python for Excel users, half-day workshop
Data is data, so why should it be / Python and Excel go awkwardly?OK, I’m no lyricist, but there is a beauty in build one skill set off of another.I believe that every data analyst should have in their “stack” of tools a spreadsheet application, BI/dashboarding program, database and programming language. For that last category, Python is a ...
2982 sym 2 img
Join me on Clubhouse: “Analytics in Excel, Python and R” April 21st at 8pm Eastern
I usually stay away from the “next big thing:” I’ve never logged into TikTok, and don’t get me started about the trendy restaurants here in Cleveland (I don’t find writing my own hot dog order on a clipboard fun or amusing.).However, I wasn’t able to stay away from Clubhouse, the trendy new drop-i...
2004 sym 4 img
Why most “coding for spreadsheet users” training fails
Excel is arguably the world’s largest coding community, with 750 million users worldwide. Many of us, myself included, get introduced to the data world from Excel.But the thing is… Excel is not coding, not exactly. Like any software, Excel has its limitations, which a full-borne programming language like R or Python can make up for.This is a ...
6465 sym 2 img
The learning theories behind Advancing into Analytics
Technical books are curious in a lot of ways, including this one: most technical authors don’t typically teach or write for a living. They’re technicians who happen to write a book. That means that while you may get the most brilliant technical know-how, you may not receive it in a format best suited to understand and retain it. Lots of techn...
6323 sym 2 img
Advancing into Analytics: What’s with the bird?
Technical publishers are an interesting case study. With most trade books, readers hardly know or are concerned with the publisher. There might be a tiny penguin or house on the corner of the cover, but that’s the only marking.By contrast, you can usually tell the publisher of a technical book before anything else, even before its author. And t...
3824 sym 4 img
A tour of Python + Jupyter Notebooks
In an earlier post I offered a tour of RStudio, the popular integrated development environment and my preferred interface for teaching R. With Python, I favor Jupyter notebooks so figured a similar tour would be worth it.This post lays out the basics of Jupyter, how to navigate the interface, and how to execute Python code with it.What are Jupyte...
5037 sym 10 img
Five ways to get help in Python
In an earlier blog post I offered five ways to get help in R. This post serves as the Python equivalent, assuming you are working in Jupyter notebooks. 0. Web search itThis one seems obvious, but is worth pointing out. If you get an error message, plug it into a search engine. If you would like to know “How to do X…” well, chances are other...
4813 sym 8 img