Sometimes perfect information helps with decision making, while other times imperfect information helps with mistake/bias correcting. It seems a kind of art to me.
I know that I have a tendency to trust theory and technology too much, but it is the nuances and subtleties in econ such as this that help me stay focused on the humanity side of it, rather than get lost in the science part of it. I am deeply grateful.
Today a friend of mine told me that I should do theory instead of applied after discussing a tutorial problem set, and we had this conversation of applied vs theory again.
Having aimed to be a theorist for my entire undergrad and half of master's, I know too well how an immature theorist could get lost in their beautiful and delicate equations, but overlook the real world. I'd rather not go back to that mindset.
There is no clear-cut in human hearts, and the "real world" is something that we should respect and adapt our theory to, not the other way around. I feel very lucky to have learnt this from my undergrad supervisor, and to have held tight to it.