Writing. Writing can help you think through a complex problem, and then editing and rewriting can help you explain a complex idea clearly, or convince someone t

Writing. Writing can help you think through a complex problem, and then editing and rewriting can help you explain a complex idea clearly, or convince someone to take action. Reading. Learn how to take in lots of information quickly, how to notice what isn't being said, and to find implicit or faulty assumptions. Quantitative research. That means visualizing and manipulating data, but also knowing when you can't trust the data, and the importance of diving into the details to get things right. Qualitative research. Statistics will only ever tell you the big picture, and only if you ask the right questions. Qualitative research can help you trace causality, and tell you what questions are worth asking.