Description
The article at hand refers to the thoughts and ideas of scholars who observed the process of analytical reasoning and found some useful tips and suggestions for making it effective. The first thing that the article pays attention to is that it is better to find approximate answer to the correct question than completely correct answer to the wrong one. The degree of information loss and misleading is far much in the last case. The choice of the problem is crucially important for the effective reasoning and qualitative analytical work.
Another striking point is that evidence is crucially important for every research. However, even if it seems that the strong evidence is absent, it does not really mean this. Only a good and careful search can prove that the evidence is absent. Therefore, good analytical reasoning presupposes careful investigation and observation of every issue. A good research means careful investigation at a larger scale and at a smaller scale as well. “Average” does not mean “proper”. For statistical purposes the average is significant, but for analytical reasoning it might not be enough. Therefore, a wider view should be given in order to get clearer image.
Theories should be used to back the facts, not vice versa. There are much more ways to be wrong than right. At the same time, there is no point in being precise, if the thing under investigation is not correct or clear. Therefore, indeed good analytical investigation and reasoning can be done on the basis of facts and statistical evidence that the author of the research is sure about. The main thing is his or her knowledge of the subject and willingness to provide a worthy reasoning (Tufte, n.d.).
Judgment
Excellent analytical reasoning gives an opportunity to be an excellent problem solver. Analytical thinking gives broader perspective and allows taking good and weighted decisions. An ability to analyze the situation and find reasons for such state of events does not necessarily should be combined with the ability to write this analysis down. Some perfect analytical reasoning can be done with no written word used. Therefore, I would point at the fact that Edward Tufte (n.d.) talks about written analytical reasoning in particular (Mukherjee, 2014).
In response to Edward Tufte’s article, I should say that his advice is indeed useful and comprehensive. However, I would not mix analytical work with statistical information that much. Statistics relies on some well-established rules and principles, first of all the mathematical ones. Analytical reasoning is worthy if it pays attention to statistics, but also takes into account all trends and is capable of providing a projection even if it goes in contrast with statistical trends.
Being able to provide valuable analytical reasoning is crucially important in every profession. Edward Tufte said nothing about experiments that should be made on every step of the reasoning in order to test concepts. Theoretical background, thus, may be either proved or declared wrong in each particular case. However, he indeed mentioned about great variety of sources that should be referred to in order to check facts. Absence of evidence in any case can be just superficial, and deep and comprehensive research may come across some significant evidence. The more doubtful the analyst is, the more correct and comprehensive reasoning he will get in the end (Gibson, 2014).
References
Gibson, Nick. (2014). Analytical Thinker Tips: 5 Tips to Think More Analytically. Udemy Blog. Retrieved from https://blog.udemy.com/analytical-thinker/
Mukherjee, Rajib. (2014). Analytical Reasoning. Udemy Blog. Retrieved from https://blog.udemy.com/analytical-reasoning/
Tufte, Edward. (n.d.). Advice for Effective Analytical Reasoning. EdwardTufte.com. Retrieved from http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0002bA
