Data Sharing versus Analysis
Every modern form of communication, “news”, shows, social media, etc. endlessly inundate Westerners with information. It is repetitive conditioning from the minute you rise until you lay your head down at the end of the day. Unfortunately, we are not taught how to differentiate data sharing from an analysis. If you have not already read the article “Fact-Checking & Data Processing”. You should probably read it first.
Data sharing is the presentation of information without a conclusion. In other words, data sharing lays out raw data or Information (Filtered Data) without telling you what to think of it. It leaves the analysis to the recipient. See the article “How to Handle Raw Data from Sources”
Data Analysis is the assertion of an opinion or analytical assumption of the meaning of the data. In other words, Data Analysis is the assertion of a purported expert’s opinion after reviewing the data presented.
Nearly everything that you are presented is an analysis. Most content purveyors do not want to risk you coming to a decision other than their desired one. They won’t take that chance. So, they tell you what to think. They do not present you with useful empirical data that you can use to validate them. Instead, they generally offer globs of drippy normative hyperbole to activate your emotional response.
The first sign of a reliable analysis is that the analyst provides reproducible empirical data. Empirical data; knowledge – information proved through real-world trial and experiential data. The recipient should always test the asserted conclusions utilizing both the empirical data presented and other data that the recipient finds when crosschecking.
All peer-reviewed professional research gains notoriety and respect because their peers (often who disagree) test the initial analysis of data on their own with a critical eye. The goal for a top-notch analyst is to vet their theorem enough to attain a point of REPRODUCIBILITY. Reproducibility is the hallmark of a skilled analyst. As you repeat the process of validating analyst’s work, you will rapidly learn how to spot lazy, narrow-minded, biased, or outright shills. Once you verify a few analysts who always “get it right,” you can relax a bit to trust them. An analyst proves themselves trustworthy and reliable after a series of sophisticated analyses are presented, and the recipient can validate the conclusions. You should regularly test their analysis just to assure that they are still reliable.
Supportive Details:
The internet, social media, and generally ubiquitous electronic communication has fueled the modern media’s insidious Yellow Journalism to new heights. The incident that I highlighted in the article, Yellow Journalism, was a landmark because it blackmailed USA President McKinley into war with Spain. As significant as that event was, it is only one of the countless others that have shaped the minds and ideologies of nations.
Writers and the media practiced Yellow Journalism against the USA’s Appalachian People during the early 1900s. They targeted them again in the late 1960s with the “rural purge” from television. CBS terminated every show in their line up that reflected rural America; Jim Nabors, Mayberry RFD, Andy Griffith, Beverly Hillbillies, and more.
See the video on YouTube, “Do You Remember The Rural Purge? CBS Showed NO MERCY to Granny!”
