Not All Data Are Valid
May 1, 2012
Many people—probably with the exclusion of politicians—have come to believe data based decision-making is the way to effective action. In the words of Lord Kelvin, “to measure is to know” and so if our decisions and actions are to be directed by knowledge—not just by what we believe—then we must base them on data. While this may hold some truth it is not true enough!
Reminds me of the move to apply "evidence-based practice" in social services some years ago, which always took me to the scene in Monty Python's Holy Grail: "If she floats, she must be made of wood and if she is made of wood....a witch!" The message that "not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted" is so crucial in today's world.
