Big Data's "theory-free" analysis is a statistical malpractice

Very well put, @LapsedPacifist.

On top of all your points, the very idea of executing a null hypothesis significance test (NHST) and calculating p-values is becoming ever more questionable in my view as a statistician. In my view, seeing hypothesis tests and p-values as the essence of scientific reasoning, as it has been taught for decades, is dangerous and flawed.

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