ASSUME makes an ASS of U and ME

ASSUME makes an ASS of U and ME

I discovered this gem of management-training speak only yesterday. It is a dangerous over-simplification, whose dismissive tone diminishes the importance the reader may place on a relatively significant topic.

Real life is infested with assumptions, within and throughout all aspects of real life. Managers, and humans too, need more than this simplistic advice not to make assumptions.

The most dangerous assumptions are the ones we don't know about. They can be hidden in the detail, or hidden in plain view, but if we don't realise they're there, we could get caught out. So the first and most important guideline in dealing with assumptions is to discover them if you can.

Having discovered an assumption, consider it: if the assumption is wrong, will it have a significant effect on what you're doing? If not, then ignore it, and move on. If so, then your next question should be 'can I avoid this assumption?' If not, document it, and the reason why it can't be avoided, before you move on. [You are NOT making an ass of yourself or your reader; you're taking corrective action to minimise a threat.] If you can avoid this assumption, of course you should do so.

There's not much more to dealing with assumptions than this. So much more useful than a 'smart-ass one-liner', and not all that much longer.

The great circle route

What is the true nature of reality? Because of our imperfect human perception, we have no direct access to the real world we believe to be out there, no objective knowledge of a putative objective reality. This is the message the sophists offered thousands of years ago: not that we should believe that the whole universe is a figment of your imagination, but that we should understand it's a possibility. The nature of the issue is such that we have no means to estimate the probability of it being true, so we can't even dismiss it by thinking "never mind, the chances are less than that of being hit by a meteorite". We just don't know.

So what do we do? We assume that the real world is (more or less) as we perceive and understand it to be. There is no other practical course (that I know of).

So what was the point in discussing sophistry, if we are concluding that we should assume what humans have always assumed, that the real world is as it seems to be? In everyday terms: none!

In philosophical terms, we have achieved something significant. Our assumption that the real world is as it seems to be is out in the open, along with the knowledge that it is an assumption. This tells us that we are in no position to make absolute or certain statements or claims about the real world, and it helps us to keep an open mind when empirical observations seem to jar with our theories of how things ought to be.

If we are certain we are right, that we understand, then we could miss the signs that might direct us to new knowledge. Those signs could actually be invisible to us. Our perception being what it is, we might simply fail to perceive that which we couldn't make sense of. Bearing in mind that we are not sure or certain can help us notice what's in front of our eyes; at worst, it can do no harm.

Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"