Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.
W. H. AudenRead
Thou shalt not answer questionnaires Or quizzes upon world affairs, Nor with compliance Take any test. Thou shalt not sit with statisticians nor commit A social science.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques the idea of using data and statistics to understand complex social issues, suggesting a skepticism toward overly analytical approaches.
W. H. Auden's quote encourages a critical view of the reliance on statistics and social sciences in understanding the world. It suggests that questionnaires and tests, often seen as tools for knowledge, may fail to capture the complexity of human experience and social phenomena. Auden seems to advocate for a more nuanced, intuitive approach to understanding relationships and societal issues rather than mere data-driven analysis.
Themes
StatisticsKnowledgeUnderstandingSocial ScienceSkepticism
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on the implications of data in policy-making, one might quote Auden to emphasize the limitations of statistics.
More from W. H. Auden
All quotes βThat the speech of self-disclosure should be translatable seems to me very odd, but I am convinced that it is. The conclusion that I draw is that the only quality which all human being without exception possess is uniqueness: any characteristic, on the other hand, which one individual can be recognized as having in common with another, like red hair or the English language, implies the existence of other individual qualities which this classification excludes.
W. H. AudenRead
Nobody knows what the cause is, though some pretend they do; it like some hidden assassin waiting to strike at you. Childless women get it, and men when they retire; it as if there had to be some outlet for their foiled creative fire.
W. H. AudenRead
History is, strictly speaking, the study of questions; the study of answers belongs to anthropology and sociology.
W. H. AudenRead
Music is the best means we have of digesting time.
W. H. AudenRead
'Healing,' Papa would tell me, 'is not a science, but the intuitive art of wooing nature.'
W. H. AudenRead
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