A datum is not always a fact. People compute about life all the time on speculative notions, wishful thoughts and postulates, assertions of purpose--all data on which they compute but which may not be factual. Concluding that "men are all rotten" may be a perfectly fine datum to some women, but not to others. Vice versa, too.

"Last night I dreamed of Marienbad" is a datum in the mind of the dreamer. It has no correspondent substance in the material universe, but it sure fits into her calculations about life.


A