My point here is not to prove that inflation isn’t a thing or that I’m an expert on the oil markets, my point is simply to point out that we should all be careful with how we interpret the data put in front of us.

Matt brings up a good point about how we look at data and the story it tells.

This was one of the points in The Data Detective, we should know what’s being measured and on what timescale we’re looking at data. Specifically the fourth rule of the book is about stepping back and getting context for any news/numbers that are being shared.

Another excellent rule is to get the backstory. Many people have heard of the jam study that showed if you have too much jam to choose from you don’t make a choice. I remember learning it in my Counselling Degree, but if we look across all studies that look at the affect of choice on action the overall result showed is 0.

Too much choice doesn’t paralyze us like the jam study showed.

If you want to make better decisions about data and the news I highly recommend The Data Detective alongside Invisible Women and The Death of Expertise.