Re:Why facial recognition has led to false arrests
by rcoveson on Monday August 24, 2020 @06:36PM
(#24266330)
> No, I'll use New Jersey because it's the state that I'm most familiar with.
That's fine; you should say something like "In New Jersey, the median salary for cops is...". Stating only that "The median salary for cops is...", and then giving the number for your home state, which just happens to be the largest number in the country, in a conversation about Michigan specifically and the US broadly, is simply misleading. Yes, even though your sources make it clear it's NJ data. Your sources are supposed to back up your statements, not clarify their incompleteness.
I don't disagree with the point you're trying to make. I just saw a surprising statement, checked the source, and realized that the statement was missing some critical context. And not even context that would make sense, like the Michigan number vs. the US number. This is context that no reader could possibly infer from the conversation or your wording. Making arguments that way weakens positions, it doesn't strengthen them.
That's fine; you should say something like "In New Jersey, the median salary for cops is...". Stating only that "The median salary for cops is...", and then giving the number for your home state, which just happens to be the largest number in the country, in a conversation about Michigan specifically and the US broadly, is simply misleading. Yes, even though your sources make it clear it's NJ data. Your sources are supposed to back up your statements, not clarify their incompleteness.
I don't disagree with the point you're trying to make. I just saw a surprising statement, checked the source, and realized that the statement was missing some critical context. And not even context that would make sense, like the Michigan number vs. the US number. This is context that no reader could possibly infer from the conversation or your wording. Making arguments that way weakens positions, it doesn't strengthen them.