If I were to say what is it the most common mistake smart people make, it would be the inability to tell good data from bad. In other words, how to Filter out the b.s. One of the many discoveries of the computer age is that the adage “garbage in is garbage out” is inescapable. Bad data cannot make good decisions regardless of intelligence. Intelligent people with bad data just reach bad decisions faster.

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you how to discern good data from bad, at least not in one post. The topic includes elements of logic and psychology. Cover some of this, I certainly will and already have. Who has the burden of proof can include who provides data, and standards of Evidence always detail the accepted ways to collect it.

There’s an art to filtering b.s. that most of us develop with experience, and the time spent doing so is important. Learning to know good data from bad is more important than learning to reason or analyze. Without good data, your reasoning will still be wrong anyway. That’s pretty daunting, but just recognizing the importance is a start.

That bad data leads to bad decisions seems obvious, but what is not is that intelligence has little to do with it. We tend to think of a good decision as just coming from good thinking. Good thinking may be a necessary requirement but it’s not sufficient. Instead, let’s think of being smart as two separate skills: the ability to process data and the ability to recognized good data from bad. When you can process data well you can do all that we define as intelligent. You can solve puzzles, perform well on tests, and do well in school. You will also sound smart, being able to navigate complex concepts. But, in all those cases, the underlying data was given for you. We would say “the answers are in the back of the book”. Most of us don’t have to collect our own data until we go out into the “real world” where all is uncertain.

Granted our education includes how to properly collect data. That’s what I described as the standards of evidence in a previous post. This part, however, is where intelligence can least come into play. Properly collecting data is usually rote, tedious, and without glamor. Sure, there can be creativity in inventing a new way to get data, but someone still must do it. That part takes practice and work.

Where there’s a bit of a gray area is when reasoning is based on the conclusions of others. When I refer to Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity, I can say I “borrowed” his reasoning because I have learned the theory through all its logical steps. (I can only partially say that for the General Theory of Relativity, so I’m not THAT smart.) However, as for the Michelson-Morley Experiment, which Special Relativity uses, that is data. I’ve never repeated the experiment and rely on it being accurately reported.

That’s not much different from what we all do. We constantly must base our judgments on the observations, investigations, conclusions, and opinions from others. To us, that’s all data, and our bad judgments often come from using bad sources.

Once we comprehend that, much more becomes understandable.

Why do highly successful people have cooky ideas?  That rich businessman who believes in astrology. The esteemed surgeon arguing that the pyramids were used to store grain. Most of us would find such ideas ridiculous, but due to the past successes of the spokesmen, we are tempted to reconsider these ideas. We shouldn’t. Maybe they’re just cooky ideas born from b.s. These men are arguing outside their success where they may not know how to evaluate the evidence and more importantly aren’t forced to filter out their biases. Hey, maybe I’m wrong and their brilliance allows them to see something the rest of us don’t, but history says otherwise. I don’t have to argue that they’re dumb or crazy, just that they’re working from b.s.

Why is that friend who sounds so smart constantly making bad choices? We don’t want to think of him as stupid, gullible, or unstable, and we don’t have to. If you don’t look at the decisions made, but the information he bases those decisions on, you just may see the problem. (Though if you can’t find one, maybe you should suggest counseling.)

Why does our honest friend say so much that’s untrue?  He’s not a liar.  He just has a blind spot to certain kinds of b.s.  (And again, maybe counseling.)

And most illustrative of all, how do conspiracy theories form? Conspiracy theories aren’t always illogical. Within their own framework, they can be quite reasonable. In fact, some intelligence can be required to form and understand a conspiracy theory. But somewhere they all rely on questionable evidence or, at least, ignore the good evidence.

In each of these cases, you could argue that their causes are psychological in nature. That’s probably true, but that is also the reason they are working from b.s. If we just write them off as “troubled”, we end up discounting all they are saying. However, if we instead look at the data they are using and apply our own hard earned b.s. filter, we can benefit from their good ideas and relationship while avoiding the nonsense.

And if we are honest with ourselves, we consume bad data as well. We all do. But the good news is that a b.s. filter is a skill that can be learned. With patience and practice, we can improve. Otherwise, you might have to consider counseling.