“Hmm… that makes sense,” said Ben.
“Uh, you sound surprised,” was my response.
“Well, usually when people start out by saying ‘Here’s my take on that,’ it tends to not be that helpful.” Well Ben’s a smart guy, and if he hints that it might be helpful, that was enough to get me to write this post, which has been rattling around in my head probably about since blogs were invented.
My “take” had been prompted by another iteration of a typically tedious discussion that you may also have been involved in periodically: whether “data” is singular or plural. For those of you too young to know, or too smart to care, “data” is the Latin plural of “datum,” meaning “a piece of information.” So when a hapless person would say “There isn’t enough data,” grammar snoots would correct them and try to get them to say “There aren’t enough data.” It’s been a losing battle. (David Foster Wallace fans will know that he actually called these people SNOOTS, all caps; an executive summary is here.) Continue reading “Data Ain’t What They Used to Be. Or Is They?”