Now, imagine a middle-school teacher asking a student in her 8th-grade class to draw what you see above on the playground blacktop using a fat piece of chalk.
Then visualize two students standing across from one another one at the bottom of that image above and one at the top. Are you with me?
What does the student at the bottom say when the teacher asks what he/she sees?
"I see the number 6."
What does the student at the top say when asked?
"That's easy, I see the number 9."
Realize both students are looking at the same graphic.
I received a little bit of blowback from a few subscribers from last's week's informative section on inflation. They took umbrage with my reference to the US Civil War. I referred to it as the War of Northern Aggression.
One man was so upset, he unsubscribed. Another subscriber, John W., switched on his passive-aggressive voice asking, "what exactly is the 'War of Northern Aggression' "?
John, the War of Northern Aggression is what happened between 1861 and 1865 here in the USA if you happened to live south of the Mason-Dixon line.
Ask someone who lives in the Deep South who had relatives wear a gray uniform in the conflict and you'll probably hear them call it the War of Northern Aggression. That was their vantage point.
Often when talking about past or current events, you might be looking at the same thing as another person, but see something different from what they see.
There's a compounding issue as well. You and the person you're talking with may not be able to have a productive discussion because both of you are basing your talking points on different data sets.
When that happens, it's impossible to have a fruitful discussion.
This is why expert witnesses like me have to swear an oath at depositions and on the witness stand in courtrooms. We say, "I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help me God."
If you don't have the whole truth, it's impossible to make the correct decision about any matter. Period.
Deck Stain Test!
Are you about to clean and seal your wood deck? I can't imagine you looking forward to this drudgery.
It's an enormous amount of work. Have you seen the cost of deck sealers? They're now at $50 a gallon and going UP!
You can't afford to make a mistake this year and use a crap sealer!
Are you frustrated with the deck sealer you've been using watching it fade, possibly peel, and otherwise look bad in one or two seasons?
I was sick of being frustrated too and decided to hunt over two years ago for the Holy Grail of penetrating wood sealers. I believe I may have found it!
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