Imagination is more important than intelligence.
–Albert Einstein

Sistine Chapel Creation of Adam by Michelangelo
Credit: mbell1975

Someone recently said to me that “data is the new creative.” I chuckled. I thought it was clever and I told him so. But I disagree.

The difference between data and creative is the difference between facts and truth.

The facts are cold and hard. There are only one set of facts, but there are as many truths as there are people in this world.

The truth is contextual. It is the human experience. The truth gives our lives meaning and helps us make sense of the facts.

The truth is a matter of faith. It’s what good journalists and lawyers and artists make for a living. It’s why everyone hates spin doctors.

The truth is also the basis of all relationships. Without it, we could never see past anyone’s faults — we could never forgive their imperfections.

So data is important because it helps us understand already happened. But creative lets us change what happens next. It helps us break the pattern that the data shows us.

So once you know what happened, what do you do with that knowledge? What are you doing to change what happens next?

About CT Moore

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Hi, I'm CT Moore (@<a href="http://twitter.com/gypsybandito">gypsybandito</a>) and this is my personal blog, a place where my thoughts go to wander. I'm a recovering agency hack who now manages <a href="http://socialed.ca/seo/">SEO</a>, <a href="http://socialed.ca/social/">social media</a>, and <a href="http://socialed.ca/content-marketing/">content marketing</a> campaigns through my consultancy <a href="http://socialed.ca/">Socialed Inc</a>. Sometimes I speak at conferences, too, but you can check me out on <a href="http://ca.linkedin.com/in/ctmoore">LinkedIn</a> if you really wanna know <i>that</i> much more about me. And if you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment or drop me a line. I love it when strangers come a callin' ;-)

5 thoughts on “The Truth vs The Facts

  1. The decision to change what happens next is hard, especially when there are a million excuses to hold you back from doing so. Family, no money, too much risk or even “I won’t like doing that” are all excuses I’ve used in the last week when considering getting a new job or venturing out on my own. For me the data is that you can’t change without sacrifice and the creative is actually making the sacrifice.

    Thanks for this post. From now on I’ll be consciously thinking “What am I doing to change what happens next?” The reality is that change is inevitable and most often it hurts less when you decide to change as opposed waiting until you’re forced into it.

  2. It’s always enlightening to hear people discuss “truth”. I find the only people who believe that truth is finite and not relative are fundamentalist.
    Truth is a matter of faith, and like faith, the ultimate goal to uncover it is not attainable.

    I have chosen to rewrite the ending to my story. It’s taken me a long time of compromising and enabling to to come to the simple conclusion that you must follow your passions, your own truths.

    “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” Oscar Wilde

    Thanks for a stimulating read.

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