As celebrities such as - or may not - NYC Cab Drivers Council

Morgan Dess / Abaca USA

Big Data - crunching a lot of information about things that do not recognize the people to learn - usually associated with the company. But as it turns out, there is an incredible amount can be learned by data analysts. Even things like the number of people as actors Bradley Cooper and Jessica Alba have changed driver made in taxis: perhaps zero, according to Gawker.

Apparently, the Taxi & Limousine Commission of the City of New York has drivers to record a variety of information, including the points of origin and recipient, the amount of the fees, and each toe. Using a Freedom of Information Act request, technical expert Chris Wong received about 50 gigabytes of data from the Agency , as he explains.

Another expert, Vijay Pandurangan, analyzes the results. Realize that despite all the information must be anonymous, if you do not get specific details on more than 173 million individual journeys, he was simply to undo the protection and receive the latest information, including the number of taxi and driver's license number.

It's bad enough, but the names of the passengers, fortunately, were not taken into account. But on the Internet, all information you can go around the dams. A student named Northwest Tockar Anthony realized that might sometimes correspond driving information with pictures of celebrities . If you are someone like Bradley Cooper and Jessica Alba, and there is a date and timely image to a taxi license number or medallion is in sight, more information will be very easy.

In the case of Brad Cooper, we now know that the taxi took him in Greenwich Village, perhaps Meliboea dinner and paid $ 10.50 secured without tip. Ironically, in the cabin he came to escape the photographers! We also do not know that Jessica Alba got into the taxi in front of your hotel, the Trump SoHo, and somewhat surprisingly a point to add his $ 9 Well, even if this information is relatively benign, especially in the years down the line, I found information in the public previously. Given the speculative dribble that often accompanies these photos (believe me, I know!) If, a celebrity journalist pleased to hear this additional information.

Yes, the paparazzi are probably putting scientific data retention, even now.

At Gawker, author JK Trotter combined data files cabin with Star photos, of which there are obviously many. Trotter was able data for this ride taxi who would like to find Jessica Biel, Emma Roberts and Evan Peters.

What is surprising is the number of mentions here that the taxi driver is not a point above the base rate to record celebrities: Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Amanda Bynes, Bradley Cooper and Olivia Munn. The database was wrong?

Some celebrities have denied the allegations. Alba and Cooper spokesman denied the stories:

"This story is not true," said her publicist told Gawker. "Jessica always makes a point in bar tip, even if you pay by credit card." After a decline in the early to comment and to ask us to kill this story, sent us Cooper's publicist made a statement. "Bradley takes the subway, when he too in New York and if he is a taxi, the very good advice no truth, this."

As it turns out, "the vast majority of passengers who have paid for travel money" as a point of $ 0. Maybe is listed every cheap. Maybe some driver record anything for which there is no trace, compared to check if they say their taxes.

Or maybe some celebrities are tight with a dollar and a bad tipper. God knows there are other examples as alleged Floyd Mayweather the boxer or football player LeSean McCoy .