Picture this: First day of lectures at the London School of Economics, sometime in the 1950s. Karl Popper, one of the most influential philosophers of science of the 20th century, enters the room. As every year, he begins the first lecture of the semester with a simple instruction: "Take pencil and paper; carefully observe, and write down what you have observed!"
As every year, the students' reaction is confusion. Puzzled looks. Uncertainty. Observe what, exactly?
Far from a failed exercise, this confusion was precisely Popper's point: The idea that we can start by simply observing and then discover meaningful insights is a myth. We need some form of prior question or theoretical framework to guide our observation - otherwise, we're just staring into the void.
At first glance, this academic lesson might seem far removed from the world of business intelligence and analytics. But for me, Popper's fundamental point resonates deeply with what we learn as Data School consultants: meaningful observation - and by extension, data analysis - must be guided by an underlying theory or question.
Many core principles of great data consulting stem directly from this insight: Understanding our users, crafting user journeys and stories, diving deep into the why - these aren't just buzzwords or checkboxes. They're tools with a singular purpose: to deliver observations that actually matter for decision-making. Without them, we risk creating dashboards that nobody uses or cares about.
Just as researchers need guiding questions to make purposeful observations, analysts need frameworks to uncover actionable findings in data. At The Data School, I've come to realize that today's data consulting principles are essentially Popper's philosophical insight transformed into practical tools.
In my next post, I'll show how one tool in particular - the user story - provides exactly the framework for structured observation that Popper called for, while keeping our focus firmly on business value.