I agree with what you’re saying. But there is something to this “everything is connected” idea. Almost every statistical problem I work on is connected to other statistical problems I’ve worked on, and realizing these connections has been helpful to me.
The problem with harping on everything is connected is that it is, but good systems are created bottom up instead of top down. You didn’t sit down and say “All statistical problems are governed by overarching concept X, which leads to the inference of methods a, b, and c, which in turn lead to these problems.” You said, “I have these problems, and certain similarities imply a larger system.”
It’s like biology, Linnaeus did not come up with his classification system out of thin air, he first studied many individual animals and their properties and only subsequently noticed similarities and differences which he could classify.
Narrowness is where we need to start, because it gives us the building blocks for broader ideas.
Eliezer,
I agree with what you’re saying. But there is something to this “everything is connected” idea. Almost every statistical problem I work on is connected to other statistical problems I’ve worked on, and realizing these connections has been helpful to me.
The problem with harping on everything is connected is that it is, but good systems are created bottom up instead of top down. You didn’t sit down and say “All statistical problems are governed by overarching concept X, which leads to the inference of methods a, b, and c, which in turn lead to these problems.” You said, “I have these problems, and certain similarities imply a larger system.” It’s like biology, Linnaeus did not come up with his classification system out of thin air, he first studied many individual animals and their properties and only subsequently noticed similarities and differences which he could classify. Narrowness is where we need to start, because it gives us the building blocks for broader ideas.
Seems to me the ideal way for understanding systems is to analyse and then synthesise.