The Rapid Response Institute

Tag: smell test

  • Fake or Not Fake?

    Fake or Not Fake?

    Seems we live in a world of FAKE.  How do you know what is fake and what is not?

    A recent article described certain activities in Silicon Valley as the end of fake.  The point being that in the recent VC heyday, some have feed the market crap and taken advantage of the Greed is Good mindset.  Previously addressed whether opportunities and/or statements passed the so called “Smell Test.”  Mostly likely, many in the Silicon Valley ignored their olfactory warnings.

    How did we get here?  Humans have always wanted to put forth their best impression.  We have been taught from an early age that we can only make a first impression once.  Moreover, “Research shows that it takes between just 33–100 milliseconds for someone to form judgments about your character.”

    Puffery

    “This is the best car available today.”  Not necessarily incorrect or correct but the ‘opinion’ of the sales representative.  This is an example of Puffery.  Certain claims about emerging technologies can fall into this category as well.

    However, there can be a downside to this push.  If the automobile is then perceived as ‘not the best’ or even worse, a lemon the brands of the manufacturer as well as the car dealership maybe negatively impacted.

    Investment scams have long used statements such as, “You don’t want to miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity, guaranteed to go up in value but you have to act NOW!.”  This pushes the envelope on puffery and most likely is FAKE.

    A Lie Repeated

    “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth”, is a law of propaganda often attributed to the Nazi Joseph Goebbels.

    People push their agendas, political or other.  Sometimes, however, an ‘illusion of truth‘ purports to repeatedly persuade individuals to accept and internalize this FAKE.  We see examples of this in politics and the so called ‘talking points’ put forth again and again and again.

    Building a FAKE Radar

    “A large meta-analysis revealed overall accuracy of distinguishing truths from lies was just 53 percent — not much better than flipping a coin.”  No wonder the propagandists are so successful.

    Counter to the Goebbels methodology, according to the prestigious journal, Psychology Today there are four ways to tell if you are being lied to:

    • Constant elaborate and dramatic presentations of events and their impact–the DRAMA of it all
    • The above is a behavior pattern REPEATED often–the TALKING POINTS
    • INCONSISTENCIES and changes in the same position–the UNPREDICTABLITYALITY 

    These personality disorders and be attributed both to individuals as well as organizations.  Other things to watch out for include facial expressions and other physical traits such as the eyes and fake smiles.

    The term FAKE is tossed around with glibness abandon.  As important, those who don’t use the word but pedal the same level of the illusion of truth used by many to support public and private narratives is ubiquitous.

    To be an informed consumer/decision maker of information requires an optimal FAKE radar.  Implementing and sustaining a personality disorder lie detector is just as important a life skill in a society rampant with dishonesty.

    How strong is your FAKE radar signal?

    For More Information

    Please note, RRI does not endorse or advocate the links to any third-party materials herein.  They are provided for education and entertainment only.

    See our Economic Value Proposition Matrix® (EVPM) for additional information and a free version to build your own EVPM.

    The author’s credentials in this field are available on his LinkedIn page.  Moreover, Dr. Shemwell is a coauthor of the just published book, “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 more details regarding climate change models, check out Bjorn Lomborg ands his latest book, False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet.

    Regarding the economics of Climate Change, check out our recent blog, Crippling Green.

    For those start-up firms addressing energy (including renewables) challenges, the author can put you in touch with Global Energy Mentors which provide no-cost mentoring services from energy experts.  If interested, check it out and give me a shout.

  • Bogus

    Bogus

    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

    Please note, RRI does not endorse or advocate the links to any third-party materials herein.  They are provided for education and entertainment only.

    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.