Solving Quantifornication has the benefits of countering fake news, avoiding poor decisions based on a poor risk assessment and learning to pose the right questions.

Quantifornication is a term that I use to describe any of the following:

• Twisting data, intentionally or not, to make a point that the data does not actually support

  e.g. as unpacked by fact-checking website Snopes in this article Does the United States Have a Lower Death Rate From Mass Shootings Than European Countries?

• Plucking of likelihood and consequence criteria out of thin air in a risk workshop.

  e.g. as with just about any strategic risk workshop conducted on the planet.

• Attempting to solve problems with analysis of data without properly framing the question that needs answering.

  e.g. Analysing customer complaints to answer “How do we get our service arm to run more efficiently?” vs analysing sales contracts against capability to identify “How do we better align sales and service to deliver on our promises?” •

Solving Quantifornication is easier than you might think. You don’t have to analyse massive streams of big data. All that is required is a healthy dose of scepticism and the will to do better.