Every day we're looking for the why. We're looking for the causes of what we see, whether it's changes in our mileage, the fossil record, shootings in Amish country, water on the moon, Mark Foley, you name it; it's constant. When it comes down to it, we're looking for the root causes.
When we see a connection though, there seems to be a tendency to try to interpret based on our expectations. "There must be a reasonable explanation..." - heavy on the "reasonable." It's only natural to do this of course. You can't start from scratch on every conclusion you make. But if A and B are leading to D, we often pursue C or some variation or a wait-and-see if it might still be C attitude.
So how do we get out of this rut? Is it just a matter of being open to results against your expectations? The answer is predictive value. Start with the results and go back and ask a different question. The best theory is one that can anticipate the next outcome.
Don't pretend you have to go back to zero to be open to D being the answer. If your survey results or the results of your campaign are pointing in a direction you hadn't considered (or don't like), don't be bull-headed. Change course.
