alt Hacker NewsHey, I notice this kind of thing all the time. People use "data" to tell the story they want to -- similar to how it seems humans make a decision subconsciously then weave a rational decision to back it up afterwards.
Do you have principles on how to tackle this? I feel stuck between the irrationality of anecdata and the irrationality of lying with numbers. As if the only useful statistic is one I collect and calculate myself. And, even then, I could be lying to myself.
Review the methodology, if you can, and form your own conclusions. Don't bother trying to change people's minds. It rarely works, and often causes conflict, even in the case of people who say they're data-driven.