2 ms·
some data is better than none, even if it's not fine-grained. Not necessarily. If the features of your small data sample are unrepresentative or poorly analyz
by apathy 19y ago
some data is better than none, even if it's not fine-grained.
Not necessarily. If the features of your small data sample are unrepresentative or poorly analyzed, you run the risk of distorting your priors and making a poorer decision than that expected by chance alone.
We can chew the fat on this one for a very, very long time :-)
- jfarmer 19y agoOk, you're right. I'm a mathematician by training so these technical concerns don't escape me. Still, I tried to keep my point constrained to those situations where you don't run into decisions not easily resolved in the manner I described. Sure, if you're wading into a new market, old models or assumptions might be incorrect. Or if you need to make a decision now and don't have time to gather data your intuition and savvy are going to be instrumental. But for most day-to-day, pedestrian decisions around software, web development, and business there's plenty of data that will tell you whether you should zig or zag.