To efficiently analyze a firehose of data, scientists first have to break big numbers into bits.

Streaming services are helping revive America’s most old-fashioned, undigital genre. Charley Crockett, a rising star in the roots-music field, performing in Nashville, Ind., in May.

With streaming, your algorithm—which fits into very limited memory—examines input data element by element in a single pass, deriving a summary, sketch, or synopsis of the data.

Streaming service algorithms aren’t always the be-all end-all for finding things to watch and, based on HBO’s new human curator-focused tool, the company wants to help.

In the brave new world of streaming, finding music to listen to is rarely a ­problem — but sifting through it certainly is. That’s why helping listeners locate songs and artists they like has ...