Partaking in datalatry; worshipping data; especially in the case when a researcher engages in data dredging wherein they re-analyze their data until they get the statistically significant result they want & then despite the fact that their data has no true correlation with the question they are addressing, they still cite it as the answer to a problem -- data in this case becomes a false idol.
The survey study on whether one is happier if one becomes a parent was datalatrous humbug. No matter whether the data indicates that more people are happier being parents or not, it cannot properly answer the question. This is because it cannot study parents who became and never were parents at the same time. It also cannot study how those who choose not to become parents would have felt if they did. Finitude in the end is what blocks researchers from coming to a conclusive answer in this tangible world.
by MoribundMurdoch August 31, 2022