factual

Field data beats decontextualized experimental data

Real field data, even small and hand-curated like the bagel man's, has value because it carries context, whereas decontextualized experimental data (e.g., a Dictator Game subject refusing money because the experimenter wore torn jeans) can be deeply misleading if the reason behind the recorded behavior is unknown.

factualpending

Speaker

Stephen Dubner

Evidence Quote

Real data really matters, and the bagel man--even though it was small, kind of hand-curated data--it was real data, and therefore, it has got some value.

Source

Twenty Years of Freakonomics (with Stephen Dubner)EconTalk
Created: 6/13/2026, 12:23:34 AM

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