I think the fallacy is when factors not captured or tracked by data are treated as non-existing or consequential. In Vietnam, they tried to quantify how pacified each village was as measurement of success. It did not work. This isn't saying no data is better, just that data on its own does not win a war, or the hearts and minds of villagers.

See also: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/10/the-c...