The value of assumption
"Don't assume things", "consider the facts" — these are phrases we hear indicating that assumptions are bad and should be avoided. At a quick glance, the idea is correct: it is always better not to assume and to put every decision to the test. However, in the real practical world, this is rarely done or even feasible.
What we assume
- You order food from a restaurant and assume that it is prepared well, cooked with neatness, but you do not go in the kitchen and monitor the process.
- Your brain orders the body to stand up, but you do not check each muscle one by one and order it individually. You assume that when you want to stand up, you can do it in a second.
- When you see ChatGPT or Gemini answer your queries within seconds you assume that it is correct and do not go into the reference links provided to verify that the AI knows what it is talking about.
Am I nitpicking?
Yes, in a way, but it is the way our brain, our thought processes have learned to optimise the energy. If we have done a thing multiple times, we know that most times it works as we think it will, we tend to assume that it will always do so and delegate the process and assume that the outcome will be as we expect.
However, since we cannot each time go into each step and verify each little thing, we save enormous time / effort by assuming.
So know that assumptions are just that, assumptions. It helps and simplifies and sometimes makes us look a fool.
After all, stereotyping is also a form of assumption which we nowadays vehemently oppose. We now want to replace our stereotypes with new stereotypes that the stereotyping is wrong.
So keep assuming and keep simplifying your life. Just don't fall in love with your assumptions and be ready to throw it out if that serves you best.
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