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The “Guiding Principles for FAIR Data Publishing” lays out a comprehensive set of rules by which we should consider when interacting with data.  I think this is extremely important today because data is more ubiquitous than ever. Sometimes, it feels like data is so abundant that it has created a lawless e-universe.  As a college student that tinkers with code and data science, the ways in which I am supposed to interact with data is not taught in a classroom. Other than machine-jargon protocols that can sometimes be found on an API, I have been forced to fend for myself in this growing e-universe.  As a result, gaining access to data has proved difficult along with using online data all together. By making data more findable and accessible as laid out in the FAIR guidelines, the e-universe will have a readable map for navigating it. This will hopefully make interacting with data less intimidating and in turn create a more robust data environment.  

The FAIR guidelines are also critical when considering data equity.  Historically speaking, data has been controlled by a very specific group of people.  As a result, many people have been left out of the data creation process thus creating implicit bias within our data.  This can be seen for example within Thomas Jefferson’s diaries. By shifting the paradigm in which data exists to be more accessible and usable I think that we will see a more equitable e-universe.  Instead of having to having wide gaps in data, I think that data as a whole will become more equitable.