According to Cambridge Dictionary the title term is defined as, Not real, or existing only in order to deceive people.”
We live in a world when lies are tossed around with impunity. Politician lie, school boards withhold from parents and the news is decried as fake by both sides of the political isle. How does one sort fact from fiction and knowledgeable option from uninformed or deliberately disinformed BS?
Passing The Smell Test
This is the ‘Gut Check’ feeling–does it make sense? Usually, our instincts or first impressions will have some credence. Not that further investigation is not required but humans and other animals such as dogs can tell the ‘lay of the land,’ almost without thinking.
Doubting these feelings can often lead to a less than optimum result. So, Trust Your Gut is not a bad thing.
At one point in the Covid-19 saga, one government employee suggested that if one mask made sense, multiple masks would make better sense. Widely ridiculed, this nonsense faded quickly. This followed after the celebrity photographed wearing a knitted mask.
Lies, Damn Lies & Statistics
We have been told all manner of things regarding Covid-19. First, many would get it with few if and symptoms. Later, it was defined as the modern day scourge–another plague. We were told the Science was changing. Really?
Massive daily numbers of ill and dead statistics flooded our media. Armageddon was here. Then a funny thing happened on the way to destruction. We took off our masks and most of us did not die.
Let us not forget the Scientific consensus regarding Climate Change. NO dissenting views are tolerated.
The Scientific Method, long heralded as the gold standard in research and interpreting data is often completely blown off when it gets in the way of an agenda or the often stated ‘narrative.’
What’s A Person To Do?
Social media and the 24/7 news cycle can be overwhelming. Yet that need not be the case.
We have always had to hold competing and conflicting views in our head. Nothing has changed. We just have a plethora of so called facts to assess.
We do not need fancy computers or AI to determine what makes sense and what is just idiotic. Right or Left, we must make good life decisions and walk away from the Scams and Lies perpetrated on us every day.
This pundit is rich beyond his wildest dreams. The recipient of millions for dead relatives I did not know I had, brought to my attention by African Princes. More recently, contacted by young women who offer me a massive business line of credit. Lets not forget the business opportunities that require not investments of money or time but will handsomely reward me. If only I would provide them my banking information so they know where to send the funds.
I especially like the one where if I click on a link, a so-called vendor I have never heard authorizes Accounts Payable, or the Voice Mail posted to my Outlook. Give me a break!
Yea, right! All of this does not pass my Smell Test. In fact, it all stinks, so trust your (smart) Gut. If it is too good to be true, it probably isn’t!!
How are you protecting yourself and your business from online thieves?
For More Information
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The author’s credentials in this field are available on his LinkedIn page. Moreover, Dr. Shemwell is a coauthor for an in press book (to be released in Spring 2023) titled, “Smart Manufacturing: Integrating Transformational Technologies for Competitiveness and Sustainability.” His focus is on Operational Technologies.
“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” (Martin Luther King speech at Cornell College, 1962). For more information on Cross Cultural Engagement, check out our Cross Cultural Serious Game. You can contact this author as well.
For those start-up firms addressing energy (including renewables) challenges, the author is a member of Global Energy Mentors which provide no-cost mentoring services from energy experts. If interested, check it out and give us a shout.