Conflicts of Interest

Why are dictators always in denial of the crimes against their own people? Why do bad singers go for auditions? Why is the world getting freakier everyday - with earthquakes, tsunami, protests, wars, financial crises, sex scandals etc? 

Bad advice. Of course dictators would believe that their countrymen are always supporting them, because the ones who'd want them to stay (their beneficiaries/cronies) keep asking them to do so. Otherwise, the cronies will lose their business/influence/respect.  

Of course some people who cannot sing, honestly believe that they can because their doting parents and loving girlfriend/boyfriend tell them they sound good. Otherwise, they get really upset. And of course we find this quite common in reality TV talent shows, because the producers deliberately feature bad singers in their program, and edit out those with moderate talent. Otherwise, their ratings would be much lower - TV viewers want to be entertained. And why are there so many sensational stories in the news today? Because they are sensational, and news broadcasters sell news.

Everyone gets misleading advices everyday. It's not that other people are inherently unreliable when we ask them for an advice - for most of the time, they are honest. However,  some people have a certain conflict of interest when they give us advice, so we end up having dictators in denial, disappointed auditionees, and anxious newsreaders.  

So what can we do to find the right advice, filter out the bad ones - and ultimately make better decisions?

(1) Rule out any conflict of interest: when a salesman reviews his own product for you ("You really need this multi-touch, multi-task, dual-camera with dual-flash, ultra-light & ultra-thin Epad"), you know you ought to take his advice with a pinch of salt. Scientific journal articles are known to have authors declare any conflict of interest - if they've worked with a drug company, etc.

(2) Deliberately limit the effects of certain decisions: US Presidents cannot get re-elected more than twice, but dictators rule 'till death do them apart'. So if one day you get chosen to lead an organization, step down before you get kicked out. Do it like Dr M, do it unexpectedly - even with all the pleas to ask him to stay, our country now has moved on, hopefully. And instead of deciding to put all your hopes into becoming a professional artist/athlete just because your mum said you're good at something; get proper training, and compete with others first. Finally, just because you hate somebody, don't hate him/her too much. But what if we love somebody? 

(3) Consider the silent evidence: some lunatics have burned the Quran in the US, and another group of lunatics have attacked UN staff in Afghanistan in response. What was not reported were the millions of Americans who didn't go out burning the Quran, and billions of Muslims who didn't go attacking UN members. So don't get too anxious about those incidents - although, in the latter, human lives were lost.


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Conflict of interest: The author declares that he does not own an Ipad; that he was not affected by the natural disasters; and, that he is not a professional artist/athlete. haha