Do you know GIGO?
GIGO stands for Garbage In—Garbage Out. It comes from the computer world. What it means is that a computer can only make a decision based on the information that it has at it’s disposal. If it has limited, inaccurate or corrupted information it will come up with bad answers…every time. Over and over again the mistake will be made until correct information is put in.
It works the same in jury trials
A jury has to make their decisions entirely off of evidence and testimony provided during the trial. Let’s say someone is accused of murder. Now it may be obvious that he did it to everyone in the world. It may be beyond doubt. But if the prosecutors can’t establish the case based on facts, during the trial, on the record, then the jury can’t convict. They may desperately want to but it doesn’t matter. By law they have to set him free.
Get the facts before you make your decisions.
Everyone has instincts and sometimes they can save you from bad choices. But don’t go through life trusting your feelings. Feelings change. Don’t just assume things, get the facts. Have solid reasons to support your decisions. In business they call this due diligence.
It means considering all the possibilities before you act. There may be serious risks involved but you decide to go forward anyway. You owe it to yourself to know what those risks are before you jump. You can’t expect yourself to make any decision better than the information it was based on.
Impulse decisions are usually your worst.
You see something, you love it, you get excited…you buy it. It happens all the time. A day later you ask yourself…what was I thinking? Why doesn’t it look so good now? You buy furniture you don’t need, then realize you depleted all your savings. You buy a house as soon as you see it, then you find out later about the sewage plant around the block and the planes that fly over, shaking the house all day long as they land at the airport you didn’t know was nearby. Too late now, you already bought it. Sucker. Don’t we all have enough of those horror stories?
