Recently, two of our good friends went on a bit of a honey obsession (it isn't weird if you knew them) and bought up several different types of honey from the local supermarket. They, along with several other family members, sampled all the different honeys and picked a winner: Winter White Honey made by the Savannah Bee Company. Because they loved it so much, they insisted on sending us a couple jars of the honey for us to try.
A few days later the honey arrived via the US Postal Service, and Ashly and I immediately wanted to try it. We both sampled a drop and had the same reaction: "It's honey..." We were not impressed at all. We were busy at the time, so we continued on with our lives.
Later that night we both decided to try the honey again, this time actually having it with some crackers. In order to get a good baseline, I grabbed our store-brand jar of honey also. We both tried the Winter White Honey again, then the store-brand, then back again. We were floored. This time it was obvious just how much better the Winter White Honey is than regular honey. They both tasted like honey, sure, but that sharp, tangy aftertaste you usually get with honey was not present in the Winter White Honey. None at all. In its place was a smooth, subtle flavor. I cannot quite pinpoint the exact flavor, but it really doesn't matter because it is downright delicious. $6 for a 3 ounce jar? Doesn't matter, it is worth every penny.
This got me thinking on the importance of establishing a control group. Had we not tried out the new honey with the honey in our pantry, I don't know that we would have ever known the difference. And the difference is huge! Without trying both honeys back-to-back, there was no way for us to really do a fair comparison, even though we both knew exactly what honey tastes like.
 |
| Winter White Honey made by the Savannah Bee Company. It is indescribably delicious. Get some of your own if you can find it. |
Later that night we both decided to try the honey again, this time actually having it with some crackers. In order to get a good baseline, I grabbed our store-brand jar of honey also. We both tried the Winter White Honey again, then the store-brand, then back again. We were floored. This time it was obvious just how much better the Winter White Honey is than regular honey. They both tasted like honey, sure, but that sharp, tangy aftertaste you usually get with honey was not present in the Winter White Honey. None at all. In its place was a smooth, subtle flavor. I cannot quite pinpoint the exact flavor, but it really doesn't matter because it is downright delicious. $6 for a 3 ounce jar? Doesn't matter, it is worth every penny.
This got me thinking on the importance of establishing a control group. Had we not tried out the new honey with the honey in our pantry, I don't know that we would have ever known the difference. And the difference is huge! Without trying both honeys back-to-back, there was no way for us to really do a fair comparison, even though we both knew exactly what honey tastes like.
Always Establish a Control Group
A control group is a baseline that any other object, method, or action can be compared against. Without one, there is no way to perform a comparative analysis. You cannot say a certain car is the best car if you do not compare it against anything else. Good, bad, better, and worse are ways we evaluate our world, but they always require a baseline in order to be useful.All good studies use a control group. Really, any study that doesn't is not a study at all. If you have no well-defined baseline, you cannot compare and evaluate in an objective, fair manner. There is just no way. You may think you are being fair in your evaluation, but you aren't.
This may all seem obvious, but far too often people make decisions without a good baseline, without comparing the data, and wind up doing stupid things. In the honey example, missing out on knowing how truly delicious the Winter White Honey is would not be a huge loss. We would have survived, somehow.
The point here is don't assume. There is no way to choose between two or more choices when you don't compare everything in the same light. Establish a repeatable test where the only things that change are the things you are comparing. Buying a new car? Test drive all potential winners on the same roads, at the same time of day. Buying a television? Get both in the same room with the same lighting playing the same show.
The world is science. Use that to your advantage.
The point here is don't assume. There is no way to choose between two or more choices when you don't compare everything in the same light. Establish a repeatable test where the only things that change are the things you are comparing. Buying a new car? Test drive all potential winners on the same roads, at the same time of day. Buying a television? Get both in the same room with the same lighting playing the same show.
The world is science. Use that to your advantage.
No comments:
Post a Comment