What is Cherry-Picking?
Cherry-picking is a term used to describe the act of selecting the most favourable pieces of evidence or data while disregarding any inconvenient or contradictory facts. This type of data selection can be used to support a particular argument or point of view. It is often seen as a form of bias since it ignores any evidence that does not support the desired outcome.
How Does Cherry-Picking Work?
Cherry-picking involves the selection of specific pieces of evidence that are favourable to a particular point of view or argument and ignoring any information that does not support it. This type of data selection is often used to make a case for or against something, or to try and persuade others of a particular point of view. For example, if someone wanted to make the case that a particular policy was effective, they could cherry-pick data that showed favourable results while ignoring any data that showed the policy wasn’t working.
Examples of Cherry-Picking
Cherry-picking is used in a variety of contexts and situations, including:
- In the media – when certain stories are highlighted and others are ignored.
- In politics – when certain facts are emphasised while others are downplayed or ignored.
- In business – when certain data points are chosen to support a decision while other data points are disregarded.
- In research – when certain pieces of evidence are selected to support a particular hypothesis while other evidence is ignored.
Conclusion
Cherry-picking is a type of data selection that involves the selection of favourable pieces of evidence or data while disregarding any inconvenient or contradictory facts. This type of data selection can be used to support a particular argument or point of view, but it is often seen as a form of bias since it ignores any evidence that does not support the desired outcome.