Data is Just an Added Sense
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One way this gets reinforced is that you will meet individuals who are slavishly beholden to the ‘data’ — they will make arguments and demand hard numbers to back a position, even when the numbers are difficult (or impossible) to get. Another variant of this is that these same folk will follow — blindly — wherever the data leads them — even when it goes against common sense.
This is true, but not entirely true. But it’s the worldview that is revealing here, and therefore interesting: both the tweet and the earlier ‘data is everything’ stance stems from the same misperception.
I think I’ve figured out a common-sense frame to sidestep this problem. Applied intelligently, you can use it as an operating principle (or simply as a ‘memetic catch phrase’) to prevent the spread of the wrong perception.
Humans have five senses: sight, touch, smell, sound and taste. These senses help us navigate the world around us. Feel hot? Get in the shade. Smell something bad? Perhaps ask before you eat it!
