>>make an alternative coherent picture out of it<<
There are, essentially, two ways of dealing with data.
The first, which I call the scholarly or scientific method, is to treat all data as if they were telling you something new, and perhaps unexpected. One may approach data with preconceptions, but the preconceptions are what I call working hypotheses, which are to be discarded when the data contradict one's hypothesis, and then one must to attempt to formulate a new hypothesis which is consistent with the data. People who approach data with the scholarly or scientific method are frequently wrong, but constantly learning new things.
The second, which I call the ordinary method, is to pounce upon data that fit your hypothesis, and reject data which does not fit your hypothesis. People who approach data by the ordinary method never learn anything, but are always sure they are right.
You can tell the first type from the second type by noticing what's in the pile of discarded material next to them. If it's a pile of discarded hypotheses, the person is the first type; if it is a pile of discarded data, the person is the second type.;^) |
