to cherry-pick data
1
7.0
- phrasal verb
- /ˈtʃɛriˌpɪk ˈdeɪtə/
- Informal
:
seleccionar datos
- To make his point more convincing, he started to cherry-pick data that highlighted only the successes of the project.
- cherry-pick data shows
Examples
-
On the one hand, one could argue that measuring from the low point of 1999 is cherry-picking data; on the other hand, you could reply that we know that conditions have changed since then, with FF inputs rising in price.
Blog text (16) -
I appreciate that some of these ideas go against "conventional" wisdom, but I think they are a better explanation of the data, of all the data, not cherry-picked data.
Blog text (3) -
But cherry-picking data to claim that there is a worse class gap in the Greek system is neither fair nor helpful.
Blog text (8) -
That's why you focus on warm periods and cherry-pick data to support them.
Blog text (4) -
Then he starts cherry-picking data, showing there were sub-periods during the 1920s when the monetary base rose.
Blog text (34) -
This must be distinguished from obesity denialism with statements such as obesity being completely irrelevant to health, using cherry-picked data.
Blog text (3) -
As has been noted by others before, the problem with cherry-picking data to suit your argument is that it sends out all sorts of incorrect messages, not just about the state of the nation, but about what actually might work to correct the problem you're interested in.
Blog text (18) -
There never has been a consensus, and the liberal scientists' penchant for cherry-picking data or misrepresenting data to support their cause has ruined public perception of them.
Blog text (8) -
Worse, she has a distressing tendency to use unscientific tactics, such as cherry-picking data, attacking consensus, and alleging conspiracies.
Blog text (3) -
Critics often accuse politicians of attempting to cherry-pick data that supports their claims while ignoring contrary evidence.
How Selective
Surface Forms
Morphology
cherry-pick + data
The verb 'cherry-pick' is a metaphorical extension of literally picking the best cherries to mean selectively choosing favorable items. A B1 learner who knows 'cherry' and 'pick' may infer a sense of selective choosing but might not reliably infer the evaluative/biasing nuance (ignoring contradictory data) without prior exposure, so the relation is partly transparent but not fully predictable.
Etymology
Cherry-pick data comes from the picture of someone picking only the best cherries from a tree and leaving the rest. So, 'cherry-pick data' means to 'choose only the facts that help your idea and ignore the other facts'.