Statistics
Every individual human being carries a set of data, where each datum represents a little of the big picture of the world. The challenge in research is to find out (i) whether one factor really causes another factor to behave in a certain way, (ii) whether a combination of factors together causes the phenomena, (iii) whether that one factor causes a combination of changes in various factors, and so on. The causal relationships are hidden most of the time. Another challenge is getting the right amount of data in a way that is representative of the big picture.
There is a balance between an article that states an obvious fact and a research report that tells us something which was not evident before. Of course, we have to stay away from things that are way too foggy to define. For any of the statistics to shed light on one's knowledge of the world, one has to make pattern recognitions about the world based on the numbers.
We calibrate things, even qualitative things like color, so that we can measure everything in our minds.
That's the just the beginning of trying to find knowledge. One can always be wrong about something, and be humble to admit it.
There is a balance between an article that states an obvious fact and a research report that tells us something which was not evident before. Of course, we have to stay away from things that are way too foggy to define. For any of the statistics to shed light on one's knowledge of the world, one has to make pattern recognitions about the world based on the numbers.
We calibrate things, even qualitative things like color, so that we can measure everything in our minds.
That's the just the beginning of trying to find knowledge. One can always be wrong about something, and be humble to admit it.
posted by Calpinkie at 10:40 PM
