Facts are not the same as data. I stressed the importance of “let data speak for itself. I did not say “let facts speak for themselves. This is because facts are different from data. How are they different? Please see Figure 9. We observe and record facts. That is data. We cannot know the facts. All we can know is the data and the means by which we obtained it.
… Because of the dual process of observation and recording, in which methodological means intervene, errors are more or less unavoidable. Or, the possibility of error cannot be ruled out. Therefore, data does not always equal fact. In the extreme, all data is a lie. We can never know the facts. Therefore, it is best to first discard the arrogance of “I know the facts. This humility is the attitude that is appropriate to be called scientific. All data is a lie. Use data knowing it to be a lie. And from that, we can determine the more correct truth. That is the path to judgment. But how can we determine the truth from a lie? It is because, from a different point of view, all data also contain some semblance of the truth. - KJ method Let the chaos speak for itself p.70-71
This story is interesting and I’ll sort it out later.
- This story itself is interesting too.
- It is also interesting to note the meta-question as to why I was able to answer with certainty “No” to the question “Shouldn’t we add anything but data?” It is also interesting to ask the meta-question of why I was able to answer with certainty “not so” to the question “why not add anything other than data?
Some people interpret “let the data speak for itself” as “don’t add anything but data to the KJ labels” or “don’t write your own ideas.”
- It would be nice to have fireworks to think about this theme too.
This page is auto-translated from /nishio/「データをして語らしめる」は「事実をして〜」ではない using DeepL. If you looks something interesting but the auto-translated English is not good enough to understand it, feel free to let me know at @nishio_en. I’m very happy to spread my thought to non-Japanese readers.