--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Still, it is an error to argue in front…" description: "\"Still, it is an error to argue in front of your data. You find yourself insensibly twisting them round to fit your theories.\" — Arthur Conan Doyle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/arthur-conan-doyle-273_argue_still-it-is-an-error-to-argue-in-front-o_3115494.jpg" --- # Still, it is an error to argue in front of your data. You… ![“Still, it is an error to argue in front of your data. You find yourself insensibly twisting them round to fit your theories.” quote by Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/arthur-conan-doyle-273_argue_still-it-is-an-error-to-argue-in-front-o_3115494.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/arthur-conan-doyle-273_argue_still-it-is-an-error-to-argue-in-front-o_3115494.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/arthur-conan-doyle-273_argue_still-it-is-an-error-to-argue-in-front-o_3115494.jpg) > “Still, it is an error to argue in front of your data. You find yourself insensibly twisting them round to fit your theories.” [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues that arguing against data is futile; people distort data to fit preconceived ideas. **In simple terms:** Arguments against data are futile. Key Takeaway Base conclusions on data, not bias. Themes data integrity critical thinking bias logic Mood analytical skeptical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research - business analysis - policy making - education - journalism Key Concepts epistemology scientific method Questions to Reflect On - How do you guard against bias? - What steps ensure data is used honestly? A Different Perspective Data can be misinterpreted even with good intentions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) [Deductions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deductions/) [Finding yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finding-yourself/) [Rounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rounds/) [Statistics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statistics/) [Theories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theories/) ## Related quotes > [Still, it is an error to argue in front of your data. You can find yourself insensibly twisting them round to suit your theories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/still-it-is-an-error-to-argue-in-front-of-your-data-you-can-find/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-is-a-capital-mistake-to-theorize-before-you-have-all-the-evidence/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Let me run over the principal steps. We approached the case, you remember, with an absolutely blank mind, which is always an advantage. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/let-me-run-over-the-principal-steps-we-approached-the-case-you/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [There is nothing like first-hand evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/there-is-nothing-like-first-hand-evidence/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [I should have more faith," he said; "I ought to know by this time that when a fact appears opposed to a long train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/i-should-have-more-faith-he-said-i-ought-to-know-by-this-time-that/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“I said that he was my superior in observation and deduction. If the art of the detective began and ended in reasoning from an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/i-said-that-he-was-my-superior-in-observation-and-deduction-if-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Detection is, or ought to be, an exact science, and should be treated in the same cold and unemotional manner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/detection-is-or-ought-to-be-an-exact-science-and-should-be-treated-in-2/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [I have already explained to you that what is out of the common is usually a guide rather than a hindrance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/i-have-already-explained-to-you-that-what-is-out-of-the-common-is/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“All my instincts are one way, and all the facts are the other, and I much fear that British juries have not yet attained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/all-my-instincts-are-one-way-and-all-the-facts-are-the-other-and-i/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [For chemistry is no science form'd à priori; 'tis no production of the human mind, framed by reasoning and deduction: it took its rise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-boerhaave/for-chemistry-is-no-science-form-d-priori-tis-no-production-of-the/) [Herman Boerhaave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-boerhaave/) > [when you fall in love, you must fall in love with a man the way he is now, because marriage won't change anything, except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathie-lee-gifford/when-you-fall-in-love-you-must-fall-in-love-with-a-man-the-way-he-is/) [Kathie Lee Gifford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathie-lee-gifford/) > [All deductions having been made, democracy has done less harm, and more good, than any other form of government. It gave to human existence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/all-deductions-having-been-made-democracy-has-done-less-harm-and-more/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [When I began my career as a cosmologist some twenty years ago, I was a convinced atheist. I never in my wildest dreams imagined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-j-tipler/when-i-began-my-career-as-a-cosmologist-some-twenty-years-ago-i-was-a/) [Frank J. Tipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-j-tipler/) > [There is no reason why the profoundest thoughts should not make easy and exciting reading. A profound thought is an exciting thing as exciting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-is-no-reason-why-the-profoundest-thoughts-should-not-make-easy/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Induction for deduction, with a view to construction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-comte/induction-for-deduction-with-a-view-to-construction/) [Auguste Comte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-comte/) ## More by Arthur Conan Doyle > [“shattered the bone and grazed the subclavian artery. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/shattered-the-bone-and-grazed-the-subclavian-artery-i/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [...it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-was-a-huge-creature-luminous-ghastly-and-spectral-i-have-cross/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“A study in scarlet, eh? Why shouldn't we use a little art jargon. There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/a-study-in-scarlet-eh-why-shouldn-t-we-use-a-little-art-jargon-there/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/mediocrity-knows-nothing-higher-than-itself-but-talent-instantly/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“Holy men? Holy cabbages! Holy bean-pods! What do they do but live and suck in sustenance and grow fat? If that be holiness, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/holy-men-holy-cabbages-holy-bean-pods-what-do-they-do-but-live-and/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“Wonderful!" I ejaculated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/wonderful-i-ejaculated/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Amberley excelled at chess - a mark, Watson, of a scheming mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/amberley-excelled-at-chess-a-mark-watson-of-a-scheming-mind/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Ex-Professor Moriarty of mathematical celebrity... is the Napoleon of crime, Watson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/ex-professor-moriarty-of-mathematical-celebrity-is-the-napoleon-of/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“When a doctor does go wrong, he is the first of criminals. He has the nerve and he has the knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/when-a-doctor-does-go-wrong-he-is-the-first-of-criminals-he-has-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“How small we feel with our petty ambitions and strivings in the presence of the great elemental forces of Nature!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/how-small-we-feel-with-our-petty-ambitions-and-strivings-in-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [You wish to put me in the dark. I tell you that I will never be put in the dark. You wish to beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/you-wish-to-put-me-in-the-dark-i-tell-you-that-i-will-never-be-put-in/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-he-said-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“It is hard luck on a young fellow to have expensive tastes, great expectations, aristocratic connections but no actual money in his pocket, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-is-hard-luck-on-a-young-fellow-to-have-expensive-tastes-great/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of London, and proceeded to Netley to go through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/in-the-year-1878-i-took-my-degree-of-doctor-of-medicine-of-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) [Explore all 740 Arthur Conan Doyle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) ## More Argue quotes > [I'd rather argue with you than kiss someone else](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fad-ibra/i-d-rather-argue-with-you-than-kiss-someone-else/) [Fad Ibra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fad-ibra/) > [I do wish you wouldn't argue with me when I'm knitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-durrell/i-do-wish-you-wouldn-t-argue-with-me-when-i-m-knitting/) [Gerald Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-durrell/) > [“But that is not true for all folk. Some folk are meant to argue with fate. And win.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/but-that-is-not-true-for-all-folk-some-folk-are-meant-to-argue-with/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-argue-with-a-person-who-has-renounced-the-use-of-reason-is-like/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Argue for your limitations, and sure enough they're yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/argue-for-your-limitations-and-sure-enough-they-re-yours/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [I like the fact that we argue but in the end we come together again realising how much we each need the other](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine/i-like-the-fact-that-we-argue-but-in-the-end-we-come-together-again/) [Josephine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine/) > [The surest sign that you haven't any sense is to argue with one who hasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/the-surest-sign-that-you-haven-t-any-sense-is-to-argue-with-one-who/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) > [Has learned that sometimes it is just easier to agree with someone, than to argue a stupid point they think they have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/has-learned-that-sometimes-it-is-just-easier-to-agree-with-someone/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [If you dont know, please ask. If you dont agree, argue. If you dont like it, please say it. But don't sit there quiet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-dont-know-please-ask-if-you-dont-agree-argue-if-you-dont-like/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [America gave the world the notion of the melting pot - an alchemical cooking device wherein diverse ethnic and religious groups voluntarily mix together,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-krastev/america-gave-the-world-the-notion-of-the-melting-pot-an-alchemical/) [Ivan Krastev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-krastev/) > [Don't worry when I argue with you. Worry when I stop because it means there's nothing left to fight for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/don-t-worry-when-i-argue-with-you-worry-when-i-stop-because-it-means/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“Be quick to resolve conflicts before they mature to become wars. The energetic crocodile was once a delicate egg!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/be-quick-to-resolve-conflicts-before-they-mature-to-become-wars-the/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I taught my executive team how to argue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-mulally/i-taught-my-executive-team-how-to-argue/) [Alan Mulally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-mulally/) > [“People argue between Pele or Maradona. Di Stéfano is the best, much more complete.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pel/people-argue-between-pele-or-maradona-di-st-fano-is-the-best-much/) [Pelé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pel/) > [“The more women argue, loudly, against feminism, the more they both prove it exists and that they enjoy its hard-won privileges.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/the-more-women-argue-loudly-against-feminism-the-more-they-both-prove/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) Browse all 642 Argue quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Still, it is an error to argue in front of your data. You find yourself insensibly twisting them round to fit your theories.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur Conan Doyle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/still-it-is-an-error-to-argue-in-front-of-your-data-you-find-yourself/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Argue" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/still-it-is-an-error-to-argue-in-front-of-your-data-you-find-yourself/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/arthur-conan-doyle-273_argue_still-it-is-an-error-to-argue-in-front-o_3115494.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/arthur-conan-doyle-273_argue_still-it-is-an-error-to-argue-in-front-o_3115494.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/arthur-conan-doyle-273_argue_still-it-is-an-error-to-argue-in-front-o_3115494.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Still, it is an error to argue in front of your data. You find yourself insensibly twisting them round to…” — Arthur Conan Doyle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Arthur Conan Doyle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Still, it is an error to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/still-it-is-an-error-to-argue-in-front-of-your-data-you-find-yourself/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/still-it-is-an-error-to-argue-in-front-of-your-data-you-find-yourself/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```