Capstone: Synthesis and the Limits of Synthetic Data
What this module is about
Everything before this module was about producing a correct number or chart. This module is about what you say once you have it — and about being honest regarding what a synthetic dataset can and can't tell you about a real community.
Exercises
- Pick one chart you've created in a prior module (or make a new one) and write three observations, one recommendation, and two limitations based on it.
- Discuss why synthetic data is useful for a course like this, and what it cannot prove about actual communities.
Why it matters
A chart with no interpretation is just decoration. A recommendation with no stated limitation is overconfident. And every number in this course came from a data generator, not a real food bank — treating exercise 12 seriously is what keeps exercise 11 honest.
Deliverable
A short written brief (as if for a food bank director) combining both exercises: the chart, three observations, one recommendation, two limitations, and a closing paragraph on what synthetic data can and cannot demonstrate.
Suggested tools
Whatever you used to build the chart, plus a page of writing.