[lectrick]

> This is the opposite of how useful research and/or data science works. Data should be taken as is and then learned from. It certainly should not be gathered in an effort to directly prove a conclusion that you are already "convinced" of.

Get down off the pulpit. If the data said the opposite, I would instantly change my worldview.

But you are correct, in that my wording or attitude was incorrect. I should have said "I suspect" instead of "I am convinced" and instead of "might support this conclusion" I should have said "might support or refute this hypothesis".

Which is to say, don't scientists at least have a hypothesis in mind before they collect data related to it? Otherwise, why would you be testing at all, and for what exactly? You can't just take millions of data points, put them into a blender and get proven theories out of it!

Anyway, that's what I'd have at this point, a hypothesis. I should have used that wording, my bad.

[AnimalMuppet]

And something that you suspect (or even of which you are convinced) but can't prove is a decent starting place for trying to find the data to prove or refute it.