American - Scientist | June 16, 1915 - July 26, 2000
An approximate answer to the right question is worth far more than a precise answer to the wrong one.
John Tukey
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The greatest value of a picture is when it forces us to notice what we never expected to see.
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Far better an approximate answer to the right question, which is often vague, than the exact answer to the wrong question, which can always be made precise.
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In rating ease of description as very important, we are essentially asserting a belief in quantitative knowledge - a belief that most of the key questions in our world sooner or later demand answers to 'by how much?' rather than merely to 'in which direction?'
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Numerical quantities focus on expected values, graphical summaries on unexpected values.
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An approximate answer to the right problem is worth a good deal more than an exact answer to an approximate problem.
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