Data

 
data is the new buzz word

remember
the reporters job is not to report but to sell

to drive you to the advertisers
who pay their salaries

most reporters do not have
degrees in academic research

if they have a degree it is likely to be
in journalism or marketing

(if you want to know if they are experts in research
ask to see their PhD

and verify that it is from a reputable school in an area of hard science like physics chemistry or microbiology)

the media says the data is scientific
the data in the news is not scientific

it was not collected in a
scientific manner

the data in the news is taking a collection of numbers and
then drawing conclusions and making recommendations

which is folly

there is no hypothesis there is
no experimental design

no identification of dependent
and independent variables

there is no control group
no statistical analysis no peer review

the ‘data’ we hear on the news is reported
by journalists who have no background in research

who give us numbers and opinions
drawing conclusions from collections of numbers

from multiple sources of
questionable integrity

without factoring in

different reporting guidelines different cultures
different demographics different testing protocols

different reporting requirements
different types of distancing measures

different treatment protocols
different availability of treatments

different food sources different water supplies
different methods of sanitation

different methods of data analysis
different interpretations of available data

false positives false negatives
false reporting for

political reasons financial reasons
religious reasons social reasons personal reasons

in business when you make numerically
based decisions you look at the bottom line

the covid 19 bottom line:

the disease is spread by droplets or aerosol
therefore

stay home if you’re sick
wear a mask wash your hands

it makes sense that more restrictive measures
will most likely be more effective than nothing

except when they are not
there are no guarantees

© 2020 Raibeart Bruis