"What is research but a blind date with knowledge?"
About this Quote
Research, in Will Harvey's framing, isn't a pristine pipeline from question to answer; it's a risky social encounter with an unknown outcome. Calling it a "blind date" drags scholarship off the pedestal and into the messy world of mismatched expectations, awkward first impressions, and occasional sparks. For a businessman, that metaphor is doing strategic work: it strips research of its academic aura and rebrands it as entrepreneurial behavior - showing up with a hypothesis, reading signals fast, and deciding whether to commit more time and money.
The intent feels motivational but also quietly cautionary. A blind date implies preparation without control: you can choose the restaurant, not the conversation. That's a useful corrective to the corporate fantasy that data will always behave like a vending machine: insert budget, receive certainty. Harvey's line admits the emotional texture of inquiry - anticipation, vulnerability, the possibility of embarrassment - while keeping it accessible to people who don't live in labs or libraries.
The subtext is about humility and appetite. "Blind" nods to how little you truly know at the start, even if your deck looks confident. "With knowledge" personifies the target as something you meet, not something you own. That matters in business culture, where "insights" are often treated as commodities. Here, knowledge has agency; it can disappoint you, surprise you, or change the terms of engagement.
Contextually, the quote sits comfortably in an era of A/B testing, rapid iteration, and startup mythology: progress comes from courting uncertainty, not eliminating it.
The intent feels motivational but also quietly cautionary. A blind date implies preparation without control: you can choose the restaurant, not the conversation. That's a useful corrective to the corporate fantasy that data will always behave like a vending machine: insert budget, receive certainty. Harvey's line admits the emotional texture of inquiry - anticipation, vulnerability, the possibility of embarrassment - while keeping it accessible to people who don't live in labs or libraries.
The subtext is about humility and appetite. "Blind" nods to how little you truly know at the start, even if your deck looks confident. "With knowledge" personifies the target as something you meet, not something you own. That matters in business culture, where "insights" are often treated as commodities. Here, knowledge has agency; it can disappoint you, surprise you, or change the terms of engagement.
Contextually, the quote sits comfortably in an era of A/B testing, rapid iteration, and startup mythology: progress comes from courting uncertainty, not eliminating it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Knowledge |
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