Checking Information for an "Accurate View of Reality"

• Goals
  • Describe information checking.
  • Easily and consistently check information to assess the degree to which it paints an accurate view of reality.

Information Checking (What)

This skill involves checking information that you send or receive to see if it paints an accurate view of reality.

Accurate View of Reality (AVR)

An accurate view of reality refers to a representation of the world that is fact-based, complete, unbiased, logically consistent, and contextually appropriate.

Rationale

Being skilled at information checking is worthwhile for several reasons.

1. Avoid being influenced by information that does not paint an accurate view of reality.

2. Avoid disseminating substandard or bad information to your friends, family, colleagues, and others.

Information Checking (How To)

Principles

1. An accurate view of reality is worthwhile.

2. We nearly always have an ethical obligation to present information that presents an accurate view of reality. Doubly so if we are professional: engineer, architect, politician, physician, nurse, teacher, lawyer, accountant, and so on.

3. We can and we should check information to ensure that it paints an accurate view of reality.

4. Not either/or. The degree to which information presents an accurate view of reality exists on a continuum that spans from “zero” to “highly accurate.”

Framework

Here is the checklist.

• Verify that each X (objective statement) is true based on objective evidence.

• Verify that each Y (subjective statement) is true from the point of view of the claimant.

• Verify that the information presents the appropriate circumstances, background, and perspectives in which it was generated.

• Verify that the details and definitions are specific and not overly vague or generalized.

• Verify that accuracy is not buried in a blizzard of extraneous matter.

• Verify that the information is directly applicable to the issue or question at hand.

• Verify that the information aligns with other established facts and does not contain contradictions.

• Verify that the source is reliable, knowledgeable, and free from conflicts of interest.

• Verify that key details are not missing and consider alternative plausible explanations.

Tips

1. For checking information from external sources the checklist is rarely used in its full detail. Here’s two shortcuts.
   1. Get information from several high quality sources and triangulate.
   2. Most lousy information (i.e., not an accurate view of reality) can be rapidly identified by recognizing bias, factual errors, incomplete information, and so on.