Interchangeable Words? (Part 1: Prediction vs. Forecast and Data vs. Information)

Part 2 of this post addresses honesty vs. integrity.

Prediction vs. Forecast

Some words are used interchangeably, such as prediction vs. forecast. I like to think of a prediction as when we take historical observations and apply it to the future (winters are cold, summers are hot). But that doesn't tell us the weather for tomorrow. For that, we need a forecast where we apply a system of equations to process data for trend analysis.

Data vs Information

Information is processed data. Recording the average temperature, every day, gives us data. Examining that data (processing it) yields the information that summers are hot and winters are cold. In turn, that information can become data in yet another system.