Why Stories Compel You More Than Data – Insights from an Economist
00:00:00.000 | As humans, we are very drawn to anecdotal experience.
00:00:03.080 | We really like stories and we find stories very compelling.
00:00:06.680 | And one of the things I've found
00:00:08.280 | in all of these years of using data
00:00:10.360 | is that I really believe in data.
00:00:12.040 | And that's my core, I've trained as an economist.
00:00:14.400 | My economics work is very situated in data, I love it.
00:00:17.720 | If you tell me, here's a piece of data,
00:00:19.920 | here's a great randomized trial
00:00:21.480 | and here's what you learned from it,
00:00:22.920 | I find that very compelling.
00:00:24.520 | One of the things I've learned over time
00:00:26.140 | is that not everyone finds data as compelling as I do.
00:00:31.140 | And there is sometimes a lot of value
00:00:33.880 | in helping people understand
00:00:35.840 | why data is just a lot of anecdotes altogether.
00:00:40.120 | When we think about how we can better incorporate
00:00:43.640 | the use of data in decisions,
00:00:46.080 | one key is to make sure you are asking the question
00:00:51.080 | in a thoughtful way that is seeking an answer
00:00:53.960 | rather than making our decisions in the moment that someone is coming at us with an anecdote.