Data Tells A Story!

Data tells a story. It is like a book, it is the source material we use when we need to describe the world and things in it. Then we tell a story based on that story. We adapt the story that data tells. Think of it as us making a movie, show, or game. I feel as though it is our job to tell an accurate story, a good one, a powerful one. It can be done.

Math and Stat are often crucial tools in our storytelling. The math we do and the analysis that follows is the framework of our adaptations. Then within those things we have powerful tools that aid us in telling our stories. A good way to look at it is, what medium are we telling the story in? For example visual representations of data are an incredibly powerful tool in storytelling. Then with that, you have even more tools under it, i.e. pie charts, bar graphs, graphs of function, just to name a few.

This is all amazing to me. As I said, I feel as though it is our job to tell an accurate story, a good one, a powerful one. It can be done. We put our spin on the data, but if we're careful we can be faithful to the source material while doing something new and standing out as well.

However, not everyone is on the same page and we should be careful out there. Some people don't make good adaptations. They obscure or omit parts of the story, or make unnecessary changes to it. Sometimes they tell a very different story with elements of the original or they misinterpret it entirely. Sometimes they outright mislead you. Sometimes someone just tells a bad story. Be careful out and get to some storytelling of your own!