Like tools, inventions and firearms, data are not inherently evil or good. Data simply are. Some data are correct, some data are incorrect, but unless the data were produced illegitimately, we should not be afraid of the data.
How we use the data, the conclusion we draw, the actions we take based on our conclusions, the philosophies we build on those conclusions, those may be judged good or evil, but the underlying data can only be judged correct or incorrect, accurate or inaccurate, perhaps even mostly accurate, but not quite. But under no circumstances are the data themselves subject to moral judgements.
We don't have to like the data, we don't have to agree with the data, but we cannot alter it, dismiss it or ignore it without reason. If it is in error, then we must expose the error; if it is incomplete, we must complete it; if it is anomalous, we must explain the anomaly, not ignore it. To ignore the data only exposes our own ignorance and irrationality. I much prefer the man who admits "I believe contrary to the evidence presented, but I do consider the evidence. Would you like to present it differently?", for this man will listen. More importantly, this man has things to teach me, because there is reason to his belief, not just blind adherence to a doctrine he little understands.
Not everything you know agrees with what you believe. Science is not nearly as neat and clear-cut as we would like to believe. There is much disagreement over what the data mean. Don't fear the conflict. Relish it. Enter the fray and dig deeper into the data that contradict your beliefs.
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