We underestimate the distance between ourselves and others. Not just inferential distance, but distances of temperament and ability, distances of situation and resource, distances of unspoken knowledge and unnoticed skills and luck, distances of interior landscape.
And distances of values. Even when the advice in question is given for some neutral, instrumental aim, it can contain implicit, non-obvious trade-offs that may interact poorly with other goals. These may be things that simply never occurred to the adviser, as there was nothing to draw his attention to them.
My rule of thumb is to discard the “should” parts of the advice I’m given, look for pointers to any potentially valuable, previously unknown information contained in or hinted at by it, and move along. Everyone should do this.
My rule of thumb is to discard the “should” parts of the advice I’m given, look for pointers to any potentially valuable, previously unknown information contained in or hinted at by it, and move along. Everyone should do this.
And distances of values. Even when the advice in question is given for some neutral, instrumental aim, it can contain implicit, non-obvious trade-offs that may interact poorly with other goals. These may be things that simply never occurred to the adviser, as there was nothing to draw his attention to them.
My rule of thumb is to discard the “should” parts of the advice I’m given, look for pointers to any potentially valuable, previously unknown information contained in or hinted at by it, and move along. Everyone should do this.