A contrarian like me would say, "yes, but!&qu...

2009-06-09T09:37:30.696-07:00

A contrarian like me would say, "yes, but!" Its not the quant, but what Hai hints at the end of this post: its the questions you start with that can f*** you up (not to mince words). Nothing wrong with numbers: they help you see things you can't see otherwise. The problem is starting out assuming that you can identify variables, that you have a model that works. If you don't know what's going on, you can't define the universe and you don't know what questions to ask. Want to know what a lot of people do? You have to define what "a lot" means, and you have to deal with a lot of data, and numbers help with that.

On the other hand, if you just look at mathematical models ill -designed, you do indeed end up with fiscal crisis. Jillian Tett, journalist with the Financial times, saw the canary gasping in the coal mine. She was asking the right questions. And coincidentally, she is an anthropologist, raising the same comments that Hai Nguyen, the design researcher/ethnographer is raising.

Comments on The PacEth Blog: Airplanes and butter

A contrarian like me would say, "yes, but!&qu...