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That can work, but it depends on what you're writing about. Different methods apply in different situations. But good writing has at the very least the advantage of doing what the article notes: it forces you to take what are vague convictions and impressions and justify them. You start to notice gaps in knowledge, inferential leaps, and logical inconsistencies. Only then, and only in empirical settings, do numbers come into play because they need to be motivated by and understood within some prior context. (Even when your writing begins with some number, that number is contextualized in your mind.) Of course, good writing presupposes humility and integrity or else you risk rationalizing and bullshitting.


Agreed, writing is necessary but not sufficient. But writing is still much better than nothing.




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