Assume makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'
Assume makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'
There are many old jokes about economists only being able to solve problems by relying on a ridiculous set of assumptions. In fact, when studying economics I was continually frustrated by the underlying assumption that consumers were rational. It seemed pointless to me to build models based upon an obviously flawed premise.
Economics, it appears, is not alone. Anyone familiar with Rupert Sheldrake's (banned) presentation on the Science Delusion (See the Ted talk here) will realise that modern science is built on a number of dogma, which upon examination are just as flimsy as those employed by economists.
It seems that this human habit of building models upon tenuous assumptions is difficult to avoid, but there is a real danger that a false assumption will lead to a flawed conclusion.
Get curious!
One of the most common false assumptions we see in our work, is that which presupposes other people experience the world in the same way you do. This is particularly true with children.
Over the years we have seen hundreds of children labelled naughty, dysfunctional or plain stupid, based on their behaviour or learning styles. The assumption here is that the child's behaviour or processing is being informed by a perceptual reality which is the same as ours, and since their response is not the same as ours, they must be naughty, stupid or one of a thousand labels which the experts love.
We discovered that most of the children we see simply had a totally different sensory experience of the world, and once this was understood their behaviours and challenges made a lot more sense. In fact they were perfectly logical. The advice we give parents is to get curious about their child's experience rather than assume it is the same as theirs.
Assume nothing!
It's not just children who have different perceptual realities. It's everyone of us. Yet we often assume we know what others want or how they perceive the world. How often do we enter negotiation or relationship and plan our actions based on a set of false assumptions? .
Perhaps we would be surprised if we left our assumptions at home for the day and got curious.Why not go to that meeting without a plan? Or take a chance and discover what somebody really wants rather than assume you know (a particular challenge in long term relationships and families!)
As with the children. Get curious, communicate and respond to what is rather than to what we assume will be.
We live in an increasingly paradoxical world. What was true yesterday is not necessarily true today. When our choices are informed by assumption we limit the possibilities.
It might be wise to get curious and assume nothing.
with love
Bill