Tag Archives: context

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

The numbers game

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Since January we have been bombarded with numbers related to the Covid pandemic.  Statistics ranging from the number of active cases in a country to the number of deaths and everything in-between.

Analysis of numbers is a bit of a passion of mine.  For me, interpreting the story being told is in some ways like reading a good murder mystery.  Can I figure out what they are telling me and I guess I will only know with certainty when they confess?

If they don’t confess, in other words, there is no definitive proof my interpretation is correct (it is only a theory, not a law) I might believe I have figured out the story, but have I?

Same Facts, Multiple Conclusions

Typically strong arguments can be made supporting a variety of conclusions based on the same set of facts.  Facts used to decide courses of action do not, therefore, provide an absolute or unwavering solution.

Until your theories based on a data set are actually confirmed they are just well-educated guesses.  An abundance of data does not necessarily improve the quality of the conclusions.  It may even provide some obfustication.

Pandemic Data Overload

Given the huge variables involved in measuring the progress of the pandemic, from the level of testing to severity of the illness and ultimate impacts, it is almost impossible to arrive at supportable conclusions.

In some cases governments are using the data they have to create fear that enables them to implement the actions they feel necessary but given the lack of control data and measurement standards, this is really unconscionable.   Honesty about what we do and don’t know should be the byword of the day.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Changing Views

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A view can be communicated as a noun describing what can be taken in by the eye from a particular place or perspective.  Typically an object with some fascination or attraction.

Or it can be referring to the action of how you look or see something, usually in a particular light or with a particular attitude.  View is a word which (whether the object or the action) is colored by your own perspective.

Interpretation

What you see is translated through your thought processes into specific meanings.  These interpretations are heavily influenced by your personal bias, both conscious and unconscious.

Your view can change instantly depending on minor changes in circumstance.  For example, you may be viewing a tranquil scene in the woods lakeside.

You perceive the view as calming until a bear is sighted and instantly the calm of the situation is disturbed and the way you see and how you consider the view and its impacts are changed.

Innovation and Creativity

Changing your view, overcoming built-in bias and seeing things differently is at the core of innovation and creativity.  Flexibility in how you view things enables you to see alternatives that might not otherwise be apparent to you.

Changing views is often the key to improvement.  Being able to see things from a variety of perspectives, with a willingness to adopt the best alternative puts you on the path to positive change.

Openness in how you view things focuses on seeing the multiple possibilities which exist for most things.  Do not discard these out of turn.  Take time and settle on the perspective that provide the best results (e.g., enjoy the scenery, avoid the bear)