Blind intelligence
Simply describing something that is complex, is far more dangerous than just admitting to the limits of our understanding from the outset.
"All models are wrong, but some are useful" - George Box
We live in an era of addiction to simplification.
With a limited understanding of the complexities involved, we choose and believe in flawed metrics of success, that - although comforting - in no way reflects the 'mess of reality' that we are trying to comprehend.
Take modern marketing as an example.
We favour and choose interventions (digital ones) that 'successfully measure ROI', simply because we can assign numbers to them, rather than having any genuine evidence of their superior effectiveness.
We segment and target not because it's demonstrably more effective than mass marketing, but because it's more measurable. In the absence of a true understanding of what's really going on, we choose to isolate that which we have control over and then assume that the part we are looking at, reflects the whole that we cannot see.
Our so-called intelligence in response to uncertainty has made us blind to the fact that the measurement itself is a gross oversimplification of a realm that is obviously incomprehensible.
We've successfully fooled ourselves with our own knowledge.
Important decisions are made based on flawed assumptions, and then we wonder why the system we are trying to improve continues to decay.
The solution then is to develop a deeper awareness that there is no way of 'knowing' what's really going on and to rather approach development over time with curiosity and a willingness to learn.
Next time you turn to a trusted source of intelligence that's offering you an easy answer to a complex problem, just remember that what gets given will be 100% wrong, instead of just taking it onboard as the gospel truth, treat it as a starting point for deeper levels of further inquiry.