Bias – Are you presenting the brutal facts?

I read a post from Andy Hines of Change Waves…. and it talked about realizing your own bias and making sure that you are aware of your own views and how they effect your presentation of data.

In getting down to the core of truth, I think it is important that you are being honest with yourself. And like “Admiral Jim Stockdale” says,

“This is a very important lesson.  You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end –which you can never afford to lose –  with the discipline to confront the brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they may be.”

I also think it is easy for people to get wrapped up in the “Oh shit it’s raining trap.” In the movie Cold Mountain, Ruby says,

“They call this war a cloud over the land. But they made the weather and then they stand in the rain and say ‘Shit, it’s raining!’  “

Often times we create our own problems and realities. Can we face the brutal fact that we made the rain? And can we get past it to the discipline to confront the truth and prevail in the end?

Or, will we present our own bias and feed the storm?

Volkswagen is Moving in the Right Direction

VW has announced the revival of their 200mpg car project. Five years ago the company had produced a car that got 222mpg on an 8.5 horsepower engine. 8.5 horsepower isn’t practical for todays driving, but the company believes the time is right to create a car that can reach those numbers and still be usable at an entry level price. You can read more at Jalopnik.

This is in pretty sharp contrast to the 2009 Dodge Challenger with a 425 hp Hemi Engine. Who will be able to afford to drive this car at $4 dollar a gallon gas? Or a Ford F350 for that matter?

I do realize the entry level Challenger will come with a six cylinder engine…But I am saying, “so what”. Can’t we have horsepower and mpg too? The Mazdaspeed 3 gets 263 hourses out of a 4 cylinder. I bet with a little adjustment it could get 30 mpg (it is 20/28 right now)?

Also, I expected more improvement?

Here is a chart from  an article in MSN that shows our fuel economy per model has changed little in the last 15 years:

15-Year Flashback, Same Model Comparison [city/hwy]

Vehicle	1992	2007	Difference
Honda Civic	42 / 48	30 / 40	-12 / -8
Honda Accord	24 / 30	26 / 34	+2 / +4
Nissan Sentra	29 / 39	29 / 36	0 / -3
Toyota Corolla	31 / 35	32 / 41	+1 / +6
Toyota Camry	22 / 29	24 / 34	+2 / +5
Chevrolet Corvette	17 / 25	18 / 28	+1 / +3
Ford Explorer 4WD	15 / 19	15 / 20	0 / +1