It’s the data stupid

politicalOD

Despite claiming to be 'guided by the science' the NI Executive's reluctance to publish 'the evidence', the science and reason on which a decision is being made, seems churlish. It also seems that the politicians in the NI Executive don't quite trust, certainly lack confidence in the data. Added to which any review of the published NISRA data, a daily update on statistics around Covid and health services, even a casual review, raises questions that seem to be unanswered or simply contradictory to what the politicians and health 'experts' are saying. That undermines public confidence in decisions and policy being made.

20th Century Marxist historians didn't produce communist polemics. Rather it was a framework for critical thinking, that agree or disagree - plenty on both sides - the work was thought-provoking and based on considerable research. There was no such thing as an 'inconvenient' fact, just a fact which needed to be assessed with greater rigour and attention to endeavour to explain, to enlighten. The greats of the Enlightenment might not have recognised Marxist thinking, but there is no doubt they might appreciate the reason and rational thought applied.

What do we have today. Universities seems to have been captured by 'activist' academics that selectively advance opinion which is factually and intellectually light, pitched all to often in a character-constrained tweet that lacks substance. Journalism seems more focused on clickbait headlines to gain attention for the journalist rather than focus attention on the facts within and around a story. And politicians with zero ideological frame, making up policy on the hoof with priority on how it will look in a 280 character summary.