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Teach, Teach, Teach

Nothing improves data science like a demanding decision‐maker, one who is striving to
become data‐driven (Chapter 10), who wants to bring as much data and data science as
possible to bear and constantly expects data scientists to deliver more. At the same time,
we have already noted that many people’s least favorite course in college was statistics
(and they have not forgotten!). Don’t be surprised when your colleagues and decision‐
makers are skeptical of p‐values, logistic regressions, and ANOVA. Your only recourse to
overcome these hurdles is to “teach, teach, teach.”
You will have to work out the overall program yourself. But we can give you proven
materials to get you started, including some powerful exercises; a “starter kit” of questions
that will help decision‐makers ask tough, penetrating questions; and, in the next chapter, a
more formal template called “information quality” that they can use as they gain experience.
Redman has used the material in this chapter successfully for 25 years, while Kenett and
colleagues are amassing considerable success with the InfoQ template. The teaching we
envision addresses the needs of individuals, teams, and organizations.

The Rope Exercise

This exercise aims to show people how difficult it is to make even the simplest measurement.
1
To complete it, you need lengths of rope, roughly 10–12 feet, one for each participant. Now
take them through the following, as the pictures illustrate (Figure 12.1).
First, lay the rope out in a circle in front of you.
Second, pick up one end and cross it over so the new circle is the circumference of your
waist.
Third, mark the crossover point with your hands, pick up the rope, and wrap it around your
waist.
Finally, rate how well you did.

1 Redman first learned of this exercise from his father, Charles Redman, in the late 1970s. He claimed to have used it
often in his work at Eli Lilly, the drug company based in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Real Work of Data Science: Turning Data into Information, Better Decisions, and Stronger Organizations,
First Edition. Ron S. Kenett and Thomas C. Redman.
© 2019 Ron S. Kenett and Thomas C. Redman. Published 2019 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Companion website: www.wiley.com/go/kenett-redman/datascience