Data Offensive

During meetings in universities, companies or with govt agencies, while developing products, writing grants or simply plotting papers, the question of "data" arises. Researchers will lament, "if only we had data", or some would say, "just give us data". Typically, these researchers approach the Pandora of "data" as a blackbox, as if, just opening it will solve their problems. I get reminded of a moment in a ridiculous movie (youtube version above, in french) when Number 5, the robot with incredible intelligence thanks to some accident, becomes a voracious reader of books, pursues books wherever it sees them, chanting in a trance, "data, data,..." Data is not a blackbox, database is not a blackbox, neither can be invoked to solve one's problem with a wave of the wand.