Thought of the Day 11.12.09

One of the funny things about how both language and our minds work is the difference between accuracy and potency. Certain expressions have tremendous effect despite being untrue, whereas others which score high in truth value have virtually no impact at all.

Consider the well known aphorism, “Waste not, want not.” I suspect billions of minor resource use decisions have been turned by this particular turn of phrase. It’s a highly potent cliché. Nevertheless, neither of the common interpretations of it are true.

Frugality won’t always save you, as tens of millions of people around the world living on the verge of starvation can verify. Also, being wasteful won’t make you poor, as wastefulness is actually one of the most visible indicators of wealth.

So what phrase would be truer? “Waste not, and you’ll run a significantly lower chance of wanting under the right external circumstances.”

Truth be told, sometimes the truth isn’t worth telling.