Newminimalists shine when asked to decide complex problems.
Inference begins with a datum point. Computing analysis relies on some form of data input. Meaning is conveyed by the arrangement, or order, imbedded in information. So logical progression of inputs into decisions is datum to data and onto information [see photo].
I think I might have taught my grad students something like that when I introduced them to the vagaries of decision theory. I impressed upon them that the non-decision was a valid decision even if they had a perfect progression from datum to data to information. Most could not accept the notion that "not to act" was a valid decision. Most of them equated inaction with a lack of leadership. They immediately felt the need for a leader who could make valid choices between outcomes based on the information at hand.
All that is ancient history in 2020. Today information is a used to promote the ideology, cause, or economic outcome that most favours the person describing his or her datum and data. What I am trying to say is that information presented on the Internet, in the media, and via some many other mediums is full of bias. This bias is embedded in the information. That "embedded bias" is then elaborated upon which each retelling of the underlying story or the presentation of this information packet to the next audience.
For example let me pose a simple question for us to consider.
"Why is the Dow Jones Index rising while the looting and the chaos in the streets of America continues to rise?" Is it because of QE by the US Federal Reserve and the US Treasury? Is it because people have become conditioned to seeking financial shelter in the stock market rather than in physical asset such as real estate or gold? Does it have something to do with the demand for $US in this time of the Coronavirus pandemic?
You see what is going on here, right? I attempt to shed light on a practical answer to a simple straightforward question by offering up a sequence of related questions. The reason this happens more often today is because I can not trust the datum, data, or information I have as a stable platform for a rational analysis of the dilemma posed in that initial question.
Today we face complex [wicked] problems with unreliable datum, data, and information.
Richard.
Contact me via direct messaging or email at minimal-you.com
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