On earth now!

Martyn Rhisiart Jones

Madrid, Saturday 3rd January 2026

The Magi’s Gifts: Middle Eastern Wisdom on Data and Information

In the spirit of ancient tales, imagine the Three Wise Men – Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. They journey not to Bethlehem but to a modern data architect’s hearth. Their destination is snowy Wales on this Epiphany eve of 2026. Bearing gifts from the cradle of civilisation, they bring knowledge from Middle Eastern lore. This includes the Babylonian clay tablets that birthed record-keeping. It also includes Persian astrological databases that chart the stars. Moreover, the Islamic Golden Age had libraries where al-Khwarizmi, the father of algorithms, and Ibn Sina, synthesised knowledge into insight. These libraries are part of their lore. With twinkling eyes and fragrant myrrh-scented beards, they make their wisdom appealing. They use timeless metaphors. These metaphors turn dry data into a feast for the mind. It’s like a storyteller weaving silk from raw threads. Caspar, the Elder of Gold (Symbolising Eternal Value):
“Ah, seeker of schemas and silos, behold gold, not mere metal. Observe the enduring worth of pure data!” In ancient Mesopotamia, we etched cuneiform ledgers on clay, preserving harvests and stars as immutable truths. Today, treat your data as this gold. Refine it from ore (raw inputs) through alchemy (cleansing and governance). Transform it into crowns of insight. Make it appealing? Enrobe it in narratives—like the Arabian Nights, where a single datum spins a thousand tales. Your enterprise? A bazaar where golden data flows, enriching all who trade wisely. Waste it, and it’s fool’s gold; hoard it, and empires fall. Share its gleam, and wisdom multiplies!” Melchior, the Scholar of Frankincense (Symbolising Sacred Insight):
“From the incense groves of Arabia, I bring frankincense. It is the rising smoke of revelation. It mirrors how information ascends from data to divine insight. Recall the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, where scholars like al-Razi distilled vast tomes into healing knowledge. In your realm, data is the raw herb; information, the ground powder; insight, the fragrant vapour that guides decisions. To make it appealing? Infuse it with aroma—visual dashboards like Persian miniatures, vivid and layered, drawing the eye to hidden patterns. Beware the false prophets of misinformation, like djinn in the desert; test with rigor, as we navigated by stars. Thus, your architectures become temples, where frankincense-insight uplifts the soul of business!” Balthazar, the Mystic of Myrrh (Symbolising Healing Preservation):
“From Ethiopia’s shadowed valleys, myrrh … the balm that preserves and heals. In ancient Egypt, it embalmed pharaohs’ legacies; in your world, it safeguards data against decay. Middle Eastern sages knew: knowledge unpreserved is dust. Think of the Library of Alexandria, a vault of scrolls now lost—lesson: build resilient repositories, encrypted like sealed tombs. Make it appealing? Weave enchantment, gamify governance with rewards, like Bedouin tales, rewarding the clever nomad. Turn compliance into a quest, where myrrh-like metadata heals fractured silos, preventing the rot of obsolescence. In unity, data lives eternally, mending divides and fostering peace in your digital kingdom!” Together, the Magi chorus: “Data is the camel’s burden—heavy yet vital. Information is the oasis mirage made real. Insight is the guiding star. The appeal lies in storytelling. Cloak facts in wonder, as we did with our gifts. Even the weariest architect will follow the light.” Blwyddyn Newydd Dda, may your data journeys be as epic as ours!

Many thanks for reading.

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