I know the New Orleans Saints, after years of struggle, won the Super Bowl last season. I know in order to make a car run, it is imperative you have gasoline in the tank. I know the weather is finally changing, severely cutting down on my perspiration, which I am positive my fellow classmates appreciate. I know the grass is green, the sky is blue, and it takes approximately 365 days for the Earth to orbit the sun. I know Barack Obama is the President of the United States, and I know our country is in severe debt.
As you can see, I have collected numerous facts in my lifetime. Actually, some have even ventured to say I am smart due to this abundance of facts.
I am sure you must know facts,  too. Yes, I can bet that you have a large collection of data, yourself: meaningless names, dates, events and whatnots that seem to have moved you farther in Trivial Pursuit than in life.
I am also willing to bet that every one of you could put together an entire book with the amount of, more often than not, useless factoids you have sucked up over the years. It’s true; we have all obtained an inconceivable amount of data. My question: how do we ensure that we are actually learning and understanding, rather than just accumulating, facts?
The difference between facts and understanding, between data and information, is the application. Facts, or data, can only take you close enough to an experience to have a vague understanding of it, that is, to only know the experience from a passive point of view, unable to grasp the entire idea.
Understanding information is the result of multiple forms of data from a single experience being arranged correctly so that a complete perspective can be obtained.
Think about the sports analysts that invade living rooms everyday. I’m talking about the guys who have never played a down, inning, quarter or period of anything, but “know” their sport inside and out. Now, these guys could quote any stat you ever wanted; they could tell you the schedule for every team, who is favored, who they predict to win, and why; they could probably even tell you what kind of jockstrap some of the players wear.
But, man, would I love to see Buster Olney step into the box and attempt to hit a C.C. Sabathia fastball. These guys may know their games better than they know their wives, but that isn’t going to help them at all if they really have to step on the field. That’s why they stay on the sidelines and take in the raw data from a safe distance.
I am also reminded of the self-proclaimed political pundits I run into occasionally. These are the people who, after a quick helping of Glenn Beck washed down with a shot of Bill O’Riley, suddenly become experts on every political story of the week, and, not to mention, know exactly how to get our country out of debt and solve the BP crisis.
Why don’t these daily diplomats ever run for office? I am hoping it’s because they know (though probably don’t want to admit) it takes more than repeating, verbatim, the opinions of agenda-pushing talk show hosts and anchors to win an election; it takes having a full understanding of current events and the ability to see and make the most rational decisions.
What does this mean to you? Recognize the fact that you have too many facts, and though they are an important step towards knowledge and understanding, they are only a step.
Strive to add on to the facts you have already obtained, and be able to distinguish between raw data and the application of that data.
Finally, realize that it is more beneficial and much more fulfilling to have quality data rather than quantities of data.
Micah Green is a junior majoring in communication. He can be contacted at [email protected].