# Boring analysis By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2022-09-07 Almost all analyses are [[You can try this at home|boring]] because there is no story or art. Despite it being fairly well known within the analytics community that storytelling is critical, analyses continue to be bullet points and not full narratives with a beginning, middle, and end. This gap exists because storytelling is hard and requires creating a coherent linear story in a nonlinear, complex world. Good stories typically have linear plot lines, messages, and themes, but rarely is the world this simple. By the [[nature]] of the work, analysts often have a close-up view of the [[complexity]] of the thing they are studying, so they see all of the intertwined variables, conditions, and processes. This close-up perspective can be overwhelming and take a long time to dissect. Some analysts may never see the forest through the trees and will remain stuck knowing everything and nothing at the same time. Additionally, discerning the critical plot point in any story takes time and effort. This effort isn't endless crunching of data, it is the synthesis of something new. Creating something new often can't be rushed or constrained, yet analysts regularly face restrictions. Most of the time this is acceptable because the person who commissioned the analysis already knows the story they want told and analysts need to eat. But, rarely will a thought-provoking work of art come from such commissions. As a result, we see many "see spot run" analyses with rarely, if ever, a "star crossed lovers" analysis. Boring analysis emerges from the boring systems that have [[Subversive Art|appropriated it]]. If you want interesting and insightful analysis, embrace the vision of something different than the story you want told. #### Related Items [[Analytics]] [[Complex Systems]] [[Art]] [[Storytelling]]