Can you see the elephant in the room? It really depends if you are an insider or an outsider. To an insider, the little things matter. The dirty laundry is everywhere, and selection bias is rampant. Twenty plus years ago I worked in a service garage selling repairs to Chrysler car owners. To this day, I have trouble believing in Chrysler quality. My belief has nothing to do with the truth. It's a selection bias.  I only saw the Chrysler cars with problems, so I mistakenly thought Chryslers have more problems than other cars. Crazy; I know.

Have you ever heard of the curse of knowledge? You can't unlearn something. You can't unring a bell.

Here's where I go wrong. Being a self-proclaimed smart and ethical person, I feel compelled to share my knowledge. I feel like I need to be honest with clients and let them in on the secret that new cars due have problems. And Chrysler might have more than its fair share. I hesitate to be that "sales" guy that shouts about how great Chrysler is without considering the reality of my selection bias.

Fast forward to today’s information flow. The stream of information is designed to interest you, to keep you watching. The advertisers are the client, not you. You are the product being sold. I too trade my attention for free email, curated videos, and seeing pictures from friends. What I need to remember is selection bias is worse than ever. I’m not seeing a reasonable representation of the truth. I’m seeing more and more of what I want to see. If I want to see problems, I will. I don’t think we can change this as long as companies are buying our attention. I do think we need to aware of what’s happening.

Never forget you are an insider and try to remember what it was like to be new, to be from the outside. You’ll be able to see the elephant in the room, and you might have more friends from other walks of life.