About

I'm Nikolai and I love everything that has to do with data. In my work I try to apply statistical methods and approaches in unfamiliar contexts. This requires in particular the collection & archiving of new data sets as well as the appealing graphical presentation of the results.

In my projects I generally work with R and Python. I studied environmental sciences, economics & statistics in Lüneburg, Magdeburg & Bamberg. My last research stay was in Osaka, Japan in early 2020.

Current projects

• Soccer Shorts — A series analyzing professional soccer using a large event dataset (goals, cards, substitutions) covering thousands of matches. Each piece picks one question and answers it with the numbers.
• Crossword construction — A data-driven attempt at building a crossword good enough to get published by the New York Times. An interactive dashboard built on top of every NYT crossword ever published helps with clue selection, grid patterns, and fill quality.
• Home weather analysis — Making sense of my own Netatmo station data by putting it in context — comparing it against official station records, long-term climate trends, and neighborhood-level patterns.

Collaborators

• Alexander Porto — Cognitive scientist at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh. We work together on research projects — most recently on sound symbolism and glyph shape.
• Zeno Gries — Media artist in Berlin. Inspiration to try SvelteKit.
• Aileen Dietrich & Carlotta Weiser — Design Studio in Leipzig
• Studio Phyllis Johnson — Interdisciplinary Art Studio in the Baumwollspinnerei, Leipzig
• Noa Garcia — Associate Professor @ Institute for Advanced Co-Creation Studies and D3 Center, The University of Osaka
• Yuta Nakashima — Professor @ SANKEN, The University of Osaka

Inspiration

• Jon Bois, and his crazy long Google Earth / Stats video formats like Dorktown, Chart Party & Pretty Good.
• FiveThirtyEight (now defunct), and particularly Mona Chalabi and her Dear Mona column.
• Michael MacKelvie, and his smooth video essays.