08 | Steve Woll - How to Read Data Like a Navy Forecaster

When anyone can buy the same AI, what still gives one side the edge? Steve Woll spent the last eighteen years of his Navy career turning weather and ocean data into decisions that ships and lives depended on. Now a consultant and an independent candidate for Congress in Virginia, he joins Bob to work through how data actually creates advantage, and where that advantage is quietly shifting. They get into the split between physics-based forecasting and AI pattern recognition, the post-war pact that makes even rivals share their weather data, why a military model cannot afford to hallucinate the way a chatbot can, and the one problem worse than bad data: data that goes missing. It is really a conversation about where the human edge goes once the machines catch up. Listen now. ## **Timestamped Highlights** - \[00:03:27] A zoology and computer science major at Duke, decades before anyone called it data science. - \[00:10:39] What a Navy meteorology officer actually works with, and why it all comes back to physics. - \[00:12:15] The hardest part of forecasting: merging a dozen kinds of data into one picture. - \[00:13:15] The post-war pact that makes even rivals hand over their weather data. - \[00:14:49] Why the military shares some of its data openly and quietly keeps the rest. - \[00:16:41] Cray supercomputers, and who really had the best forecasting on the planet. - \[00:18:00] Two forecasting systems now run side by side: physics equations and AI pattern recognition. - \[00:19:16] Why a weather model cannot afford to hallucinate the way a chatbot can. - \[00:21:23] When anyone can buy the same AI, what happens to a nation’s data edge? - \[00:30:41] The worst thing for a data analyst is not bad data. It is missing data. - \[00:49:13] Why human curiosity may hold the last edge over the machines. ## **Mentioned Resources** - World Meteorological Organization (WMO) - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) - Internet Archive - Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State by Michael Lewis - Federal Election Commission (FEC) ## **About the Guest** Steve Woll is a retired U.S. Navy officer who finished his career as a Commander. He was surface warfare qualified and spent the last eighteen years in uniform as a Special Duty Officer for Meteorology and Oceanography, turning weather and ocean data into operational decisions. Raised in Pittsburgh, he studied zoology and computer science at Duke University and began his career in environmental science computer modeling before joining the Navy through Officer Candidate School. Today, he consults with data-intensive organizations, has worked extensively with NOAA, and is running for U.S. Congress as an independent in Virginia's 3rd District. 🔗 LinkedIn | Website ## **Important Links** Connect with Bob: Website | LinkedIn Book a Strategy Session with Bob: Book a session Learn More About What We Do: What we do Curious Data is an original production hosted by Bob Lytle. Brought to you by Centri Analytics. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.