This is not really a blackjack topic but every time I see "data are", it bothers me even though I believe that is considered correct since data is plural and datum is singular.

However, I was taught (many many years ago) that if you are talking about a collection (which data is(are)) you are talking about the collection itself which is singular and not the individual elements. To me it is like saying, "the collection are."

So Don or any of you other English professionals, set me straight......How it bees?