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The hard limits of data
It is wrong to suppose that if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it — a costly myth. — W. Edwards Deming

Data isn’t worthless. Data is really, really valuable for telling you what has happened in the past. Great expense has gone into producing data that can tell you what’s going on in the present. But as the 7- and 8-figure salaries of quantitative analysts at hedge funds show us, using data to extrapolate what will happen in the future is one of the most challenging things you can try to do with it.
The hard limits of data It is wrong to suppose that if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it — a costly myth. — W. Edwards Deming Data isn’t worthless. Data is really, really valuable for telling you what has happened in the past. Great expense has gone into producing data that can tell you what’s going on in the present. But as the 7- and 8-figure salaries of quantitative analysts at hedge funds show us, using data to extrapolate what will happen in the future is one of the most challenging things you can try to do with it.