Paul McGowan ...
The problem with facts is choosing which to follow. For example, it is a fact that regardless of which cable we use to connect the output of an amplifier to our Audio Precision test equipment the results will be the same. Of course, that doesn’t mean the cables are the same.
As access to information increases so too do the available facts of any subject. Some facts are important to include while developing understanding while others detract or at best confuse us. If we’re designing an amplifier it’s best to stick to the facts pertaining to our specific design rather than chase factual rabbits down confusing holes.
How to choose which facts to follow?
Before the internet’s deluge of information, our limited research turned up end results that resonated with us: a product we liked, a person we admired, a book worth reading, a teacher worth learning from, a circuit worth emulating. Once a direction had been chosen, we could then dive deep into the facts that pertained specifically to that end result.
Today, we have a tsunami of facts and end results that may or may not be relevant, yet each can send us spinning off into the confusion of the weeds.
If we want to rely on the clarity of facts we need to make sure we are researching the relevant ones.
Pick a product, pick a guide, pick a direction, and then study the facts that helped shape it.
