# How can you compare nebulous things without numbers? # How can you compare nebulous things without numbers It is very hard to compare things without numbers. On the one hand if you try to put a metric on [[Nebulous]] things, you artificially decrease nebulosity and open yourself up to the [[Streetlight Effect]] and [[Goodhart's Law]]. On the other hand, you need to be able to make a decision and think about comparing things. Perhaps ordinal ranking is more important for nebulous things. [[An ordinal metric can comparatively rank a thing]]. [Web URL for this note](http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/How+can+you+compare+nebulous+things+without+numbers) [Comment on this note](http://via.hypothes.is/http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/How+can+you+compare+nebulous+things+without+numbers)