In the time it takes the Earth to rotate about its axis, internet users will generate 2.5 quintillion bytes of new data. That number, a calculation by IBM, is mostly a slag heap of digital dross. But it's a mountain asset managers can no longer afford to ignore. Whether to spin alpha or just survive, asset managers need to separate the meaningful and profitable from the futile and worthless. "Data science, big data and machine-learning are all becoming