> Either evolution and the big bang happened or they did not; both matters can, in principle, be solved with more data and better theory. But the right form of

> Either evolution and the big bang happened or they did not; both matters can, in principle, be solved with more data and better theory. But the right form of taxation or government cannot be answered with more data and better theory. They are ideological positions that are established by subjective debate." > If you don't adjust your views of taxation and government based on data, nobody should ever listen to what you have to say on politics (or anything else). Wrong. Even if you knew exactly the result of spending $100 more on a given welfare program, that doesn't tell you whether you should spend that $100. There are two reasons (1) knowing the benefit of spending $100 there doesn't tell you whether that $100 is better spent somewhere else (2) reasonable folks can disagree on whether those benefits are worth $100. (I may be willing to spend $0.01 to make your life $1 better, but I'm not willing to spend $0.25. Your numbers are probably different and no amount of data helps us decide between them.) More data is useful, but it isn't decisive.