Now that I'm older and he may no longer be in a position to argue, I can assert that he was wrong. In fact, sticking numbers on some things can be downright misleading. I find this repeatedly in focus groups I conduct to help companies boost profits.

An example: I got a call the other day from a fellow at the Gallup Organization. He was conducting research among Citibank customers and had a bunch of questions about Citibank personnel and procedures. I had a lot to say. Unfortunately, all the answers had to fit into slots, ranging from Very Satisfied (that's a +10, I guess) down to Very Unsatisfied (0, I guess).

Had I visited my local Citibank branch within the past 30 days? "Yes." Did I deal with any personnel other than a teller? "Yes." How long did I have to wait to see that person?

"Not very long."

My answer wasn't satisfactory. The Gallup researcher pressed me. "Would you say 3 minutes? 4 minutes? 5 minutes?" I hadn't timed it, so I couldn't provide a numerical answer.

The folks who prepared the questionnaire may have attended the class with my old professor and decided that you don't understand something unless you can quantify it. Waiting "not very long" was not a valid answer.

Then came a crucial question: Was I "very satisfied" with my treatment at the branch, "moderately satisfied," and so on?

I was very satisfied.

Next crucial question: Was my overall impression of Citibank's services "very satisfactory, moderately satisfactory...?"

Well, I felt that the folks at the branch were excellent but that Citibank's online banking software, "Direct Access," was awful, written by a committee out to create user-hostile software.

I said so to the researcher.

But Citibank wanted numbers. The Gallup fellow pressed again. He needed to fill a slot about "overall" satisfaction. Overall, I was very satisfied with the people at the branch and very dis-satisfied with the software. I don't know how Gallup slotted my answer.

Had I been running a focus group for Citibank, I would have dug up a wealth of priceless-but not numerical-information.

I was reminded of the fellow out deer hunting. When he encountered a deer, he fired two shots. One shot went 10 yards to the left of the deer; the second shot went 10 yards to the right.

Jubilantly, he shouted, "I got him."