Decoding the Myth of Data-Driven Objectivity

Relying on data is often nothing more than outsourcing your subjectivity.

• Data reflects someone else’s decisions about what to measure and how (usually).
• Data has been modeled based on someone’s understanding of how to factor and store inputs.
• Data presumes that measurability and relevance are functionally equivalent or near enough to matter.
• Data still needs analysis, synthesis, and storytelling to make sense.

Data doesn’t say anything. People say things. Saying things takes sense-making. Sense depends on human context.