A Quote by Bertrand Russell

We are ... led to a somewhat vague distinction between what we may call "hard" data and "soft" data. This distinction is a matter of degree, and must not be pressed; but if not taken too seriously it may help to make the situation clear. I mean by "hard" data those which resist the solvent influence of critical reflection, and by "soft" data those which, under the operation of this process, become to our minds more or less doubtful.

Bertrand Russell

Quote Topics

Become Between Call Clear Critical Critical Reflection Data Degree Distinction Doubtful Hard Help Influence Led Less Make Matter May Mean Minds More More Or Less Must Operation Our Pressed Process Reflection Resist Seriously Situation Soft Solvent Somewhat Taken Those Too Vague Which

Quote Author

Bertrand Russell
British - Celebrity
May 18, 1872 - February 2, 1970

While hard data may inform the intellect, it is largely soft data that generates wisdom.

Henry Mintzberg

The biggest mistake is an over-reliance on data. Managers will say if there are no data they can take no action. However, data only exist about the past. By the time data become conclusive, it is too late to take actions based on those conclusions.

Clayton Christensen

Scientific data are not taken for museum purposes; they are taken as a basis for doing something. If nothing is to be done with the data, then there is no use in collecting any. The ultimate purpose of taking data is to provide a basis for action or a recommendation for action. The step intermediate between the collection of data and the action is prediction.

W. Edwards Deming

scientists ... resist ... making more of the data than the data make of themselves.

Natalie Angier

In my view, our approach to global warming exemplifies everything that is wrong with our approach to the environment. We are basing our decisions on speculation, not evidence. Proponents are pressing their views with more PR than scientific data. Indeed, we have allowed the whole issue to be politicized-red vs blue, Republican vs Democrat. This is in my view absurd. Data aren't political. Data are data. Politics leads you in the direction of a belief. Data, if you follow them, lead you to truth.

Michael Crichton

I was interested in data mining, which means analyzing large amounts of data, discovering patterns and trends. At the same time, Larry started downloading the Web, which turns out to be the most interesting data you can possibly mine.

Sergey Brin

One of the myths about the Internet of Things is that companies have all the data they need, but their real challenge is making sense of it. In reality, the cost of collecting some kinds of data remains too high, the quality of the data isn't always good enough, and it remains difficult to integrate multiple data sources.

Chris Murphy

Facebook collects a lot of data from people and admits it. And it also collects data which isn't admitted. And Google does too. As for Microsoft, I don't know. But I do know that Windows has features that send data about the user.

Richard Stallman

Design has a powerful impact on the viewer. It has authority, and data also has the same air of authenticity and detail. It can be hard to argue with a graph, and it's hard to argue with data. So to combine data with a strong visual impact creates a powerful message.

David McCandless

With too little data, you won't be able to make any conclusions that you trust. With loads of data you will find relationships that aren't real... Big data isn't about bits, it's about talent.

Douglas Merrill

MapReduce has become the assembly language for big data processing, and SnapReduce employs sophisticated techniques to compile SnapLogic data integration pipelines into this new big data target language. Applying everything we know about the two worlds of integration and Hadoop, we built our technology to directly fit MapReduce, making the process of connectivity and large scale data integration seamless and simple.

Greg Benson

Data!data!data!" he cried impatiently. "I can't make bricks without clay.

Arthur Conan Doyle

Take the situation of a scientist solving a problem, where he has certain data, which call for certain responses. Some of this set of data call for his applying such and such a law, while others call for another law.

George Herbert Mead

Data are just summaries of thousands of stories - tell a few of those stories to help make the data meaningful.

Dan Heath

People think 'big data' avoids the problem of discrimination because you are dealing with big data sets, but, in fact, big data is being used for more and more precise forms of discrimination - a form of data redlining.