Comment by geye1234

2 hours ago

> The problem with data driven decision making is that data is numeric, and the act of counting is necessarily an act of approximation, by which we erase the difference between objects or events in order to bucket them into a category so that they can be counted.

Yes, this is exactly right. To put it another way: When we quantify something, we abstract away everything about that thing that is not quantifiable. So our thinking is only about a tiny aspect of that thing's existence.

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geye1234

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xorcist  23 minutes ago

> we abstract away everything about that thing that is not quantifiable

It's worse, we simply abstract away everything else, including innumerable things that are quantifiable.

sseagull  2 hours ago

Everyone quotes Goodhart's law, but I think the McNamara fallacy is even more important nowadays. It should be read aloud to every CEO every day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McNamara_fallacy

TLDR: Making a decision based on only qualitative data, and therefore ignoring qualitative information and observations, can lead to bad outcomes. Not everything that is important can be easily measured.

  • wvenable  1 hour ago

    These bad outcomes aren't coming. Maybe we as customers don't like it but it doesn't mean the companies are suffering for it.

    For example, McDonald's reported a full-year 2025 net income (profit) of $8.563 billion, an increase from the $8.223 billion reported in 2024.

    • lkey  35 minutes ago

      Spirit of Capital Accumulation be praised!

      May 'annual profit' continue to be the only measure that has mattered, does matter, or will ever matter to those that bask in the radiance of perpetual earning growth!

      1 reply →

    • enquirewithin  23 minutes ago

      Meaningless.

      The correct question is: how much more or less would they make if they were applying some other philosophy?

      At least in the context of this conversation.

      And, an increase in profit of $340 million across 13,882 stores (in the US) is less impressive.

      And presumably that $8.563 billion is McDonalds corporate and the franchisees didn’t see all of that gain.

      1 reply →

  • waldarbeiter  2 hours ago

    > Making a decision based on only qualitative data

    I suppose you meant quantitative and it's just a typo