---
title: "The100: Data pedestals, longer funnels and odd road signs"
description: "The100: Dyson’s toothbrush, funhouse mirrors and aerodynamic nose blowing"
---

[Watch Me Think Blog](https://hello.watchmethink.com/blog)

# [The100: Data pedestals, longer funnels and odd road signs](https://hello.watchmethink.com/blog/the100-data-pedestals-longer-funnels-and-odd-road-signs)

 Written by [Fran](https://hello.watchmethink.com/blog/author/fran) | Oct 30, 2026, 8:30:01 AM

## Pass the salt

It’s 2 Mentos for the price of 1 in [James Addlestone’s recent piece,](https://dosesofreality.substack.com/p/can-we-please-stop-putting-data-on) where he shares 2 separate but related brain fizzers. The first is that the UK productivity crisis may have simply been a survey error(!). And the second is that we need to stop putting data on a pedestal:

*“The availability of data has, I think, made us question its veracity less and less \[...\] None of this means we should use less quantitative data. I think it means we need a more humble relationship with it \[...\] Research should work more like a detective. No single source solves the mystery \[...\] Perhaps the countermovement to the age of quantification isn’t rejecting numbers at all. It is simply remembering what they are. An approximation of reality.”*

## The long way round

The blogosphere has been preaching for a while that AI is shortening the customer journey. But Peter Buckley of Meta has shared [two studies showing that ain’t happening](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/pete-buckley_the-funnel-isnt-collapsing-its-expanding-share-7516396190024744961-Rn9e) (...yet, at least):

*“Google / Ipsos found those who used AI noticed or interacted with 12 touchpoints on average, vs 4 for those who didn't. Google's explanation is AI makes finding good information easier, so people take more steps \[...\] IAB / Talk Shoppe's recorded shopping sessions found something similar. People took more steps after using AI than before using it. Their explanation is trust: only 46% fully trusted what the AI recommended, so most went off to verify.”*

## “Hey, we’re bikeshedding”

Free yourself! Free yourself from spending too long on the trivial. Russell Davies is the breaker of chains with [his explanation of bikeshedding](https://lnkd.in/p/eusJHZ5m). The concept comes from Cyril Northcote Parkinson and his story of a committee approving plans for a nuclear power station:

*“They don't know loads about nuclear power stations, so they discuss it for a little while, but then they approve the plans. The 2nd item on the agenda are the plans for the bike shed that goes next to the power station \[...\] They have many views on bike sheds, they've all used a bike shed, they all know what colours they like \[...\] So they spend hours talking about the plans \[...\] People will talk about trivial stuff because they know about it, because they want to feel like they're contributing \[...\] They won't talk about stuff they don't understand, and it's hard, they'll just move on \[...\] With naming it you can raise it in a meeting without accusing people of talking nonsense. You can just say, hey, we’re bikeshedding.”*

## One for sorrow, two for switching

How good are you at judging whether someone’s method is better than yours? Rob Henderson has been digging into a paper which shows that [intelligence and openness can nudge you to switch](https://www.robkhenderson.com/p/smart-people-love-new-ideas-even) even if that’s straight into the slower lane of the traffic jam:

*“Smart people are better at noticing when a new approach is superior. More interestingly, though, smarter people were also more likely to switch even when the new solution was similar or inferior \[...\] The authors suggest that the reason for this is that more intelligent people face lower costs when they experiment with new ideas \[...\] Personality played a role too \[...\] Openness did not predict switching to superior solutions. Instead, open people were more likely to switch to solutions that were similar or worse.”*

## And finally…

The next station is Emma Clarke. Very cool, if slightly discombobulating, to [put a face to the voice of the London Underground](https://lnkd.in/p/e38cVhcU).

Properly chuckled at [these odd road signs](https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/1x66ajd/odd_road_signs_in_britain/). I’d like to have ‘Feral Goats for 2 Miles’ on my front door.

Going at [94.34mph on a skateboard](https://youtu.be/u3ydV2RVJvc?si=bR9H2V_ePflbHX9U&t=869) is absolutely bananas. Fair play.

 

Bon weekend,

*Fran*

 

[View full post](https://hello.watchmethink.com/blog/the100-data-pedestals-longer-funnels-and-odd-road-signs)

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