I'm interested to find out why i always have to do this

$scope.$watch( function() {

   return $scope.someData;

}, function( value ) {

   console.log( value );

});

for angular to actually watch the data, why do I have to do this, this is one of the things that really bug me because it looks pointless.

If I do something like this

$scope.$watch($scope.someData, function( value ) {

   console.log( value );

});

Which is nicer, it never works?

I also use this a lot with factories

say that $data is a factory I have to do

$scope.$watch( function() {

   return $data.someData;

}, function( value ) {

   console.log( value );

});