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0 pointszeruch4y ago0 comments

"Shareholders" and the McNamara Fallacy mostly

0 comments

5 comments · 2 top-level

chrisshroba4y ago· 2 in thread

For others like me who didn't know what the McNamara Fallacy is, here's a quote from its Wikipedia Page [1]:

"The McNamara fallacy (also known as the quantitative fallacy), named for Robert McNamara, the US Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1968, involves making a decision based solely on quantitative observations (or metrics) and ignoring all others. The reason given is often that these other observations cannot be proven."

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McNamara_fallacy

pvillano4y ago

in my opinion, there's nothing wrong with using numbers and there's nothing that can't be quantified. The problem is when important metrics which are hard to turn into numbers are ignored. or, when metrics aren't reevaluated to combat over-fitting.

zeruchOP4y ago

" there's nothing that can't be quantified"

That is indeed....your opinion.

kittiepryde4y ago· 1 in thread

McNamara Fallacy - thank you for posting this, it's extremely obvious, but seeing it in print is super helpful, and I think it's important for anyone working in a corporate setting to keep in mind

zeruchOP4y ago

I've worked in this industry long enough to understand when people are "McNamaranites" and I tend to push back against them....vigorously.

To be a person is to not be reduced to an array of arbitrary scores in a worksheet.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

5 comments · 2 top-level

chrisshroba4y ago· 2 in thread

For others like me who didn't know what the McNamara Fallacy is, here's a quote from its Wikipedia Page [1]:

"The McNamara fallacy (also known as the quantitative fallacy), named for Robert McNamara, the US Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1968, involves making a decision based solely on quantitative observations (or metrics) and ignoring all others. The reason given is often that these other observations cannot be proven."

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McNamara_fallacy

pvillano4y ago

in my opinion, there's nothing wrong with using numbers and there's nothing that can't be quantified. The problem is when important metrics which are hard to turn into numbers are ignored. or, when metrics aren't reevaluated to combat over-fitting.

zeruchOP4y ago

" there's nothing that can't be quantified"

That is indeed....your opinion.

kittiepryde4y ago· 1 in thread

McNamara Fallacy - thank you for posting this, it's extremely obvious, but seeing it in print is super helpful, and I think it's important for anyone working in a corporate setting to keep in mind

zeruchOP4y ago

I've worked in this industry long enough to understand when people are "McNamaranites" and I tend to push back against them....vigorously.

To be a person is to not be reduced to an array of arbitrary scores in a worksheet.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse