The Streetlight EffectUpdated 2 years ago
There's an old joke that goes like this:
A policeman sees a drunk man searching for something under a streetlight and asks what the drunk has lost. He says he lost his keys and they both look under the streetlight together. After a few minutes the policeman asks if he is sure he lost them here, and the drunk replies, no, and that he lost them in the park. The policeman asks why he is searching here, and the drunk replies, "this is where the light is".
Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streetlight_effect
Good articles on how the Streetlight Effect
- Big data’s ‘streetlight effect’: where and how we look affects what we see
https://theconversation.com/big-datas-streetlight-effect-where-and-how-we-look-affects-what-we-see-58122 - Streetlight Effect: Definition, Implications & Examples
https://www.formpl.us/blog/streetlight-effect-definition-implications-examples - Beware the Streetlight Effect
https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/articles/chazen-global-insights/beware-streetlight-effect