… In the last few years, there has been a revolution so profound that it’s sometimes hard to miss its significance. We are awash in numbers. Data is everywhere. Old-fashioned things like words are in retreat; numbers are on the rise. …
That God-shaped hole in the universe? It’s been filled with social science. Whereas once we quoted politicians or preachers, now we quote Gallup or Pew. (Actually, few neologisms better capture the change in the United States in the last 50 years than the move from pew to Pew.) There’s a study, poll or survey for everything these days. CONT.
Bruce Feiler, New York Times