“This problem is real” is not itself a useful insight.
That’s simply false, except if it’s already widely known anyway.
And fixing problems is much, much, much harder than identifying them.
Often yes, sometimes no. But even if fixing it is harder, recognizing the problem is a necessary condition for fix. So if fixing a problem is important, identifying the problem is *at least as important.*
That’s simply false, except if it’s already widely known anyway
Also a lot of the time the general shape of the problem is known but not specific instantiations, and the instantiations are decision-relevant. Eg it’s widely known that scientific research often doesn’t replicate. But it’s still useful to learn if specific load-bearing papers don’t replicate, and/or if some fields are more prone to research fraud than others.
Similarly, we know at a very high-level of abstraction that often news articles have misleading headlines. But it’s still relevant to know how misleading which headlines are in which ways, and also if an otherwise-respected publication does this much more than normal, this may be decision-relevant for subscription decisions, whether you as an amateur freelance writer want to pitch there, etc.
And “everybody already knows” that companies sometimes sacrifice safety for profits or other priorities. But the details matter!
That’s simply false, except if it’s already widely known anyway.
Often yes, sometimes no. But even if fixing it is harder, recognizing the problem is a necessary condition for fix. So if fixing a problem is important, identifying the problem is *at least as important.*
Also a lot of the time the general shape of the problem is known but not specific instantiations, and the instantiations are decision-relevant. Eg it’s widely known that scientific research often doesn’t replicate. But it’s still useful to learn if specific load-bearing papers don’t replicate, and/or if some fields are more prone to research fraud than others.
Similarly, we know at a very high-level of abstraction that often news articles have misleading headlines. But it’s still relevant to know how misleading which headlines are in which ways, and also if an otherwise-respected publication does this much more than normal, this may be decision-relevant for subscription decisions, whether you as an amateur freelance writer want to pitch there, etc.
And “everybody already knows” that companies sometimes sacrifice safety for profits or other priorities. But the details matter!