Surface problems

Take the headline: “Two people were shot today near the banks of a lake.”

This is horrific and attention grabbing. But it tells you nothing of interest. You have no idea if this is normal behaviour. You have no idea if this behaviour has been increasing or decreasing compared to years past. You have no idea what the cause of the shootings really is. You have no idea of the relationship between the people who were shot. You have no idea of the relationship between the people who watched them get shot.

And yet, we continue to gobble up stories like these because we are addicted to them. They provide an emotional rush. Even though they provide no value to us. They are surface problems.

Now the reality is, most problems are surface problems.

And surface problems are distracting. They tell you nothing about the true cause and they distract you from the real problem.

The challenge is to dig a little bit deeper. Seek to understand the true cause. Question relentlessly until you get it.

Because rarely, if ever, does anyone find gold on the surface.