Manufacturing AUTOMATION: Does data lie?
by Manufacturing AUTOMATION
Data may be empirical and unbiased in and of itself, but the collection and analysis applied to it are not
PHOTO: Getty Images
Does data lie, or does it always reveal the truth? It’s an interesting question, at an extremely interesting time in world history.
Readers of this column are likely to recall my oft-shared opinion that “context matters,” and that the narrative is as important to collect and consider as the empirical data. This has never been as important as it is now, with all the data collected, analyzed and shared about COVID-19.
Data may be empirical and unbiased in and of itself, but the collection and analysis applied to it are not.
For this, we have to understand confirmation bias – a human condition that we all have to one degree or another.
Read more from Manufacturing AUTOMATION, one of Canadian Manufacturing‘s sister publication.
