Beware! Experts Do Not Always Give Sound Advice. (I'm No Exception)
YouTube and the Internet is chock-full of experts giving advice. If you want to learn about something, there are countless people offering their knowledge for free online. Your circle of co-workers, family, and friends will give plenty of advice too, but they are not even experts. Listen to them all, but think selfishly before taking action.
Free advice doesn't always explain the "full story" as I call it.
If you think your spouse is cheating, most private investigators will immediately suggest that you hire them for surveillance. You are given a little bit of the expert's knowledge for free, but then that little bit isn't usually enough to make wise decisions and has strings attached.
Take for example a very well respected online survival YouTuber. He suggests using saws instead of hatchets or axes in your outdoor kit. Saws are safer, and they are faster. They can do basically everything an axe blade can do. His wisdom is based off many years of experience.
Therefore, you leave your hatchet or axe at home, and you pack a saw instead. You're at your camp after a many day hike, and you begin to setup for the night. Dead wood is gathered and broken up, and then you need the saw. It's getting late and the mountain air begins to chill.
As you saw up some wood, you put a little more pressure forward than backwards. To your shock and dismay, the blade breaks! Ut oh. Did you bring a spare? I hope you did. Using the broken blade by itself will not be easy, and there's absolutely no way to repair it in the field.
Even if you did bring a spare, you could break it too. Bring a quality axe however, and you're not going to break it. The two tools just don't compare in that regard. The book Hatchet by Gary Paulsen comes to mind. The boy's hatchet kept him alive for a very long time. He didn't have to worry about it breaking either.
Sure, bring a saw if you want, but you should carry an axe or hatchet too. Your hatchet handle breaks? You can make a replacement handle with one of the two knives you're carrying. You are carrying two knives, right? I sure hope you are. The point I'm trying to make is that sometimes expert advice isn't always the best for you.
Each expert will be biased based on their own experience; their experience may not apply to your exact situation.
Another good example of this problem is when a firearm's expert recommends a specific handgun because it's the one he uses while on patrol as a Special Forces recon member. Are you going to train as much as him, or will you ever be in the same situation? No, you most likely will not. Perhaps your handgun shouldn't be the same as his then.
You probably don't need all the bells and whistles and modifications he has. A more simple setup is probably better. The guy means well of course, and I am not saying his advice is all wrong. It's just wrong for you since you're not going on a recon patrol through the jungle.
There are countless examples of this issue and how much of a problem it is today. What do financial advisors do since they are paid whether you make money or not? They recommend the same garbage advice to every client. Oh, you don't have a 529 plan for your children? You need one! No, I do not.
Just because a book tells them to have every client invest most of their wealth in the stock market does not mean that investing most of your wealth in the stock market is a good idea. Wow, that was a mouth full! Please read it again though. Do not allow yourself to be so easily robbed. In the financial world, it is called "talking your book."
As you should realize by now, this is a widespread problem.
The experts will not help you figure out the pitfalls of blinding listening to their advice either. They have something to sell, and you're the sucker buying it. Always make sure you are considering your best interests. What is best for you? Yes, absolutely, listen to experts, but do not blindly listen to them.
Is that pistol of yours being carried concealed under street clothing, or do you have it in a level III retention duty holster on your belt? Do you want to trust your life on a saw that is easy to break, or should you pack the heavier axe? Wouldn't it be wise to diversify your wealth, truly diversify it, by putting it in many different baskets--not just the stock market?
I have fallen victim to this problem before, and I have incorrectly advised others based on my own biases.
This is a vital lesson to learn in life therefore, and ignoring this truth will cost you dearly. You will be robbed, misled, and have major struggles if you do not act upon this particular advice. There's absolutely nothing in it for me to share this wisdom either.
If someone thinks their spouse is cheating, I'd want to sit down and talk to the potential client about the case. I'd want to confirm that they may be right. I'll ask them what they would do with evidence of the infidelity also. Do they even want it? Is it worth paying me to do surveillance?
Your particular situation determines the answer, and I'm not going to "talk my book" and lie to you. When getting advice therefore, always ask:
- Why are they giving me that particular advice?
- How could they be biased?
- What do they have to gain from giving me the specific advice?
- Does the advice apply to my specific situation?
The answers may not be in your favor!
too many people pull the wool over their own eyes just because some 'expert' told them to.
Sage advice my friendThank you, @liberty-minded!
People get hurt too. I saw this problem in the military, and I know it exists in police and security forces as well. It's a weird human psychological problem left over from earlier times I guess. We tend to blindly listen to those who step up to lead even when they are not qualified.
Storm Clouds Gathering calls it the "chain of obedience." Oh, you're a leader? Okay, I'll do exactly what you say, and I won't even question it. You're the boss! ;-)
I'd rather blaze my own trail than fall in line with the rest of the sheep!
It's so true that your opinion, even as an expert, is so subjective to your experience. I bought hundreds of dollars worth of __________ (fill in the blank with a worthless crypto) so I don't think bitcoin is a good idea. It's hard to find objective data to analyze personal issues, and even when you do, you are likely to block the data with your own bias. That's the human experience!
Yes, it is definitely not easy. I've found the best way, and of course it is not cheap, is to talk to many different experts in the same field. Then you can make better decisions. I guess that's why we're always told to get second and third opinions. It's also why when you need work done, you should get multiple quotes.
Our society isn't setup to make that easy though. :(
Thanks for this! People are gullible when it comes to their truths. Everyone and everything is biased.
Agreed and thanks! How do we guard against the problem? Your post reminds me of yet another problem related to this one. It's the problem of talking heads giving you 85-95% truth, but then they throw in that small amount of lies too. You end up accepting it all as truth. We automatically assume they are telling the truth about everything. This topic is a post by itself...
We always have to keep a guard up in any situation. All truths are cooked to fit the narrative. Evidence can help if it isnt manipulated but even then it can be twisted.
enjoyed.
Thank you! :) How are you and yours doing down there? Any aftermath of the storm coming your way?
Hey thanks a bunch! We're fine. Maybe gettin' a bit of rain but nothin' too bad. My sis is close to it and the neighborhood she's in is pretty much closed off with no access. Last I heard they were waiting on news for mandatory evacs? She's got power, phone and supplies and says she and the family are all good. I hope they get to stay hunkered down as they have what they need but we all know this is when the vultures seem to come out. We' ll see what happens. Hope you and yours are all good? Thanks for asking brother.
Yes, things are great up here in the Virginia mountains. :) That's good to hear about your family. I would hate a mandatory evacuation, and I could easily see myself ignoring one depending on the situation. Criminals ignore laws, and they ignore mandatory evacuations too. Then they loot. No thanks!