What happens when data scientists crunch through three centuries of Robinson Crusoe?

A research team led by Grant Glass, a Ph.D. student in

English and comparative literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, wanted to know how the story changed as it went through various editions, imitations and translations,

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and to see which parts stood the test of time.

Reading through them all at a pace of one a day would take years. Instead, the researchers are training computers to do it for them.

This summer, Glass' team in the Data+ summer research program used computer algorithms and machine learning techniques to sift through 1,482 full-text versions of Robinson Crusoe, compiled from online archives.

"A lot of times we think of a book as set in stone," Glass said. "But a project like this shows you it's messy. There's a lot of variance to it."

"When you pick up a book it's important to know what copy it is, because that can affect the way you think about the story," Glass said.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-09-scientists-crunch-centuries-robinson-crusoe.html#jCp