Because Evidence Matters

This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at freshspectrum.com.

I spent a large portion of yesterday writing a blog post that I don’t think I will ever publish. It started with a chat about creative burnout and then kind of went off the rails a bit.

Truth is, I’ve been feeling really pessimistic lately. About the current state of society and the actual merits of my chosen vocation. It’s the kind of headspace that makes it hard to write a blog post anybody would actually want to read.

So I’m trying again. And if you’re reading this, it means I actually decided to publish this one.

Did you know that TED has a new tagline?

For almost 20 years it’s been “Ideas Worth Spreading.” But in April they announced they were changing that tagline to “Ideas Change Everything.”

I think I like the old one better. In just a few words it sums up the whole point of TED, to spread ideas. And not just any ideas, but ideas worth spreading.

“Ideas Change Everything” seems more like a statement than a purpose. Or is that really the goal, to change everything? Does everything really need to change, shouldn’t we keep at least some things.

But perhaps I’m reading into it a bit too much. I didn’t even know about the change until a random Google search this morning, and it doesn’t really have any impact on my life.

Finding my own lodestar.

One thing the TED tagline pushed me to think about was my own tagline. I love to teach. But is helping to build confident data designers the true purpose in my heart of hearts?

I wish it was. And I think it is part of my purpose. Because if it were enough, blogging would be easier for me. I wouldn’t have just spent almost two months not posting.

I wish I could be happy just writing tutorials, or just drawing comics, or just creating videos. But the truth is, I’m not. Something is missing.

It might be purpose.

I’m going to try this new tagline out for a bit.

A big part of why I started my business was because I got tired of working on large evaluation projects producing reports very few would ever likely read.

Bad reporting is a waste of time and money. And not just the time and money that went into the report, but all the time and money that went into the evaluation or research project.

But none of that matters if the evidence doesn’t matter.

And there are times, when I’m feeling most pessimistic, that I don’t think it does. That regardless of what we know, people are going to ignore even the most basic facts. Especially when those facts are inconvenient.

Then again, evidence does matter. Regardless of the decisions people make, I do really believe that evidence matters. That there is a purpose behind our work.

So maybe I just need to remind myself.

Time will tell.

Now on the more positive side…

I appreciate you.

Each time I see one of my comics shared by one of you on LinkedIn, or in a blog post, or in a presentation, or in a book, I smile.

The fact that people want to read my words and open my emails is simply amazing to me. Especially when I feel like I can’t keep my mind straight, when I lose focus or go off on tangents.

So thank you for your attention, it means so much more than I can ever express. And I wish you and yours all the best as we head into 2025.

And as always, what’s on your mind as the year changes? Drop me a comment and let me know.