Understanding why there is a gap between theory and reality
At a recent data stewardship conference, the keynote speaker, a renowned theorist named Dr. X, quipped:
“In theory, there’s no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is.”
The crowd laughed, familiar with handling unruly datasets that were more chaotic than the orderly ones suggested by textbooks.
After the talk, a seasoned data steward named Larry approached Dr. X. “You know, I tried to implement your theoretical model once,” Larry said with a grin. “But my data had other plans. It’s like throwing a party and telling everyone to wear black tie, but the data shows up in Hawaiian shirts and flip-flops.”
Dr. X, intrigued, asked, “So, what did you do?”
Larry winked and replied, “What any good host would do. I put on a lei, served up some piña coladas, and turned the chaos into a luau. Sometimes, you just have...
