Data That Tells the Truth
🎯 Today's mission briefing
We are learning to collect real data carefully, clean it, and choose a representation that tells the truth — so we can settle arguments with evidence instead of opinions.
You'll know you've got it when:
- I can explain the difference between data and information, using my own example
- I can set collection rules BEFORE I collect, then clean a messy data set
- I can choose a representation that suits my data, and explain how a graph can mislead someone
The great food-waste argument
Connects to what your guest already knows and makes them curious. Activating prior knowledge is one of the strongest predictors of new learning.
Dinner table, Tuesday night. Someone says, 'We hardly waste any food in this house.' Someone else says, 'Are you serious? We chuck out heaps.' Both are certain. Both are loud. Neither has a single scrap of evidence. This argument could go for years — OR it could be over in one week, because one person in the family knows how to collect data. That person is about to be you.