Assumption is the Devil

Assumption can be a bane for both the person conveying information and the person receiving it. So why do we all do it? Many would argue it saves time and mostly it is obvious* to everybody what the subject is about. That in itself is an assumption and here is why often it doesn't work.

Firstly it assumes knowledge

Example

Woman to Child

Look at that big cow in the field.

Child to Woman

What is a cow?

The Woman assumed the Child being nearly in Junior School would know what a cow looks like. However the Child was born and raised in the City and had never come upon a cow.

Secondly it assumes understanding.

Example

A Person orders a cabinet off a website. It arrives as a self assembly flat pack. The company assumes that the Person will be able to put it together. They have delivered the correct cabinet complete with all its relative parts and instructions. However the person cannot put the cabinet together.

The Person knows that they have a flat pack. They know they have all the pieces and tools. They know what the end product should look like.They know that they have instructions. What they do not have is the understanding to transfer the 2 D instructions into a 3 D object.

Thirdly it assumes ability.

This can be divided into categories

Mental Example

A Woman asks a friend to move the washer out of the flat. The friend agrees and begins to move the washer. Water begins to pour out onto the floor. The Woman knows the water has to be turned off and understands what will happen if it is not. She merely forgot to do so.

Physical Example

A Woman is doing a sponsored silence. A relative shouts a question from another room. The woman understands the question and knows the correct response. She is physically unable to answer the question because of the bar on speaking.

All of the above scenarios are true especially the washer when I got very wet. I assumed that she would have turned off the water but I was wrong!

The reason this topic came to mind is because I am finding more and more that I am (at least technologically speaking) on the wrong end of the assumption. Since you are reading this you are making the assumption that I am reasonably competent at writing a Blog. Ha!  I usually save things like hell and press an icon and cross my fingers. It wasn't even until a few weeks back that I even found out what Blog meant. Oh I had a rough idea it was some sort of personal thing on the Internet but that was about it.

I had to look up what Blog meant on Google.   Apparently it is an abbreviation of Web Log = Blog. *So obvious is it not? The reason I mention this is because today I have had to look up what the difference is between a Blog Post and a Blog Page. I found the answer at http://theedublogger.com/2008/06/20/differences-between-blog-pages-and-posts/.

I needed to understand the difference in order to make a better Blog. As of yet I haven't made any real division between topics nor have I yet included any pictorial pieces. I am hoping to do so very soon. So please bear with me whilst I trawl through lots of techno waffle that I am assumed to be able to comprehend. 

P.S I have just discovered that the spellchecker does not recognise the word Blog. Need I say more?