V. Error Avoidance Responses

"So how can I tidy all this up as tersely as possible? If I’m gonna’ remember all this, I need an algorithm that briefly sums it up.”

   By now, you know that knowing what to do is of vital importance. Upon encountering a new scenario, you need to find someone who knows what to do! But, suppose you cannot, and you must respond on your own! Alone! Then what? This is, of course, assuming that adequate time is available for you to think and plan a strategy that is safest for everyone involved. If sufficient time isn't available, all you may then do is hope that your prior experiences and memories are adequate so as to provide you with a quick remedy to your situation ... a prospect none of us enjoys much looking forward to!

   What follows are different modes of response, various manners by which you may choose to react to your situation. Though you may lack the training, experience and expertise needed to guide you flawlessly through your predicament, with the tools that follow you shall at the very least know how to respond so that incidences of learning by trial-and-error may be minimized.

  A. It Doesn’t Get Any Simpler Than This!

Imagine possibilities!

   Okay, maybe a few more words. But that simple command conveniently sums it up quite nicely. Rather than lazily or tactlessly allowing matters to unfold, put your mind to work and imagine what might happen beforehand. On the flip side of that notion, rather than callously or ruthlessly pursuing a gain or attempting to avoid a loss, again imagine potential trepidations and overlooked factors beforehand. Imagine possibilities: Contradict your own conclusions in an attempt to recognize alternate possibility, and Expose your own assumptions in the way of verification and avoiding dire subtleties you may possibly be overlooking.

   To be a bit more explicit about where to direct your mental focus, try the following, also discussed on page 2 ....

    1. B - E - S - T

    2. Look Here!

   To rephrase the above in another (more lengthy, more difficult to remember) way...

1. Avoid Illusion
   Seems? Or is? Decide according to how matters actually are rather than to how they seem. And this takes effort, for you are required to verify. You must expend the energy needed to check to make sure if you have the time for doing so. Forget simplicity. Time granted, actively seek out Complexity. Total preparedness entails preparation for all possibility. Confirm and Verify.

2. Robust
   Prepare for E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G! Professionalism demands robust reasoning! Like a computer, you don't want your all your planning to "crash" because of some overlooked possibility — antecedent or consequent — which you hadn't prepared for in advance. Although (nowadays) experienced and professional groups tend to yield robust decisions, when you are deciding over matters on your own you must bear in mind your own limited knowledge and experiences. And again, your efforts here are time-dependent.

3. Imagine reasons to care!
   THINK — IMAGINE and PREPARE — so that you may AVOID what you are overlooking and subsequently IMPROVE! Compassion, Concern, Caution and Consideration are perpetually at the forefront of all Righteous decision-making. When you are not facing decision-making on your own, alone, Competence joins in among that list as well. Strategic planning without regard to these ideals may do just fine for imaginary games, but "out there" in the real world, decision-making oblivious to the potential feelings of others inevitably leads to exorbitant error ... and negligence. Never forget these ideals!

4. Time for Effort
   Recognize your dependence on time and effort. The more time you have, the more you are able to prepare for. So don't waste extra time on lost effort. Get to Work! The more you are able to prepare for, the more resilient your subsequent planning will prove to be. Time is more valuable than food, water and shelter! Without time, nothing else matters.

5. So That’s It?
   Humans progress in steps. One improvement is likely to be followed by yet another, and another, and .... We are arrogant to believe that we may consistently achieve our goals with only isolated periods of intense exertion followed by long lulls of relaxation. We must bear in mind that we typically overlook isolated possibilities which only time and subsequent observation may reveal. Like a captive audience, we must watch how things turn out so that we may subsequently improve. Keep checking. Keep watch. Keep monitoring and maintaining. Keep searching. You're gonna' find something you forgot to think about ahead of time!

   To summarize before continuing, always keep in mind that your memories, experiences and emotions steer you in a direction which you may perceive to be most appropriate. Don't rely on them to tell you which alternatives are the "right" ones to tend to, for you may be overlooking something that you never hitherto experienced yourself. Always stick to the facts and imagining possibilities. Where time may be short, always should we carefully consider the possible consequences involved — however improbable any particular one may seem to be — to our subsequent decisions. Moreover, never allow an influential other to sway you into making a decision: Stick to the verifiable facts. Remember that behind every opinion is an assumption, behind every life experience is a probability of occurrence and behind every rigid belief is a personal desire to believe. Don't gamble on the assumptions and/or desires of an influential other. You must imagine alternate possibilities! After all, YOUR decision is YOUR responsibility, and YOU will be held accountable for ALL subsequent consequences.

   Finally, always bear in mind that there is an exception to every rule ... almost. You should be suspicious of any rule without at least one exception written into it, because it more than likely sanctions or dictates some course of action that ought to be avoided in some particular situation. What happens if ... or in the case of ... ? Remember to make exceptions and allow for special cases — however rare or subtle. No matter who you are or what decision you are deciding, you are making some assumptions. We all intuitively make assumptions about Reality and how we expect it to "behave" each minute of each day. Recognize that your own perceptions of Reality are not entirely accurate. You do tend to generalize in some isolated instances while assuming your knowledge base to be accurate. Don't rely on experience to expose your misperceptions. Allow for this possibility before something unwanted happens. Brainstorm to eliminate all possible irrational consequences that could result from a poorly thought out decision. Remember always to prepare for the unexpected, to imagine the not-so-obvious.

   What follows on the next page is a look at an Error Avoidance Process. Though you may be an individual decision-maker facing your situation alone, it is always helpful to know what you are unable to do as much as it is to know what to do. Knowing the shortcomings to your own decision-making efforts will help to goad your own intrinsic motivations into a more concerned, considerate and careful outlook than if you were ignorant of these deficits to begin with.

   In the next section, Part IV, are other tricks and techniques we may use to avoid simplemindedness, because alas! the very task of avoiding simplemindedness is itself not so simple!

All opinions expressed in this web site, unless otherwise noted, are my own, Michael Gaspard. If you notice any errors or have any suggestions for improvement, please let me know by e-mailing webmaster@mdpme.com. Thank you!

This web page was last updated on Monday, May 24, 2004.
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