The astute reader will recognize the title of this post as a play on Edward Tufte's book of a similar name. While Tufte's work focuses on turning quantitative data into an easily consumable format that has a clear message, it's also important to do so with qualitative data. Qualitative data can often be the "how" or "why" to go along with the "what" provided by quantitative data.

If you read this blog regularly then you know I'm a big proponent of statistical analysis. You also know that I think it's just one component of a bigger picture. Watching the USA-Brazil Women's World Cup quarter final on Sunday wasn't about the numbers. I don't think many models would have been able to predict how the game unfolded and what the outcome would be.