You're not an ass for assuming
Making assumptions doesn’t make you an ass. Not examining your assumptions does.
How often have you heard the adage, “Assumptions make an ass out of you and me?” It’s usually said in a singsong voice with a tone that conveys a level of obviousness that suggests the adage need not be stated in the first place.
I beg to differ.
On the one hand, I appreciate the advice because I encourage asking questions rather than jumping to conclusions — or worse, accepting something without investigating it first.
On the other hand, I dislike this advice because it suggests that somehow we can actually avoid making assumptions.
I’d like to suggest that assumptions are essential. The point isn’t to eradicate assumptions; it’s that we need to actively identify and assess them.
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Why assumptions are essential
We exist with a constant onslaught of information, and the rate at which things change exponentially increases each year. Somehow, we have to make sense of all this information, integrate the changes, and make decisions about how we act in response.
We have to make some assumptions to exist. To reduce the number of decisions we need to make, our brain starts to do things out of habit because it’s learned from past behavior that it will work. For example, I’m willing to bet that when you get out of the shower, you dry yourself off in exactly the same way each time without thinking about it. (Yup, I’ll wait while you think about it.) Until your towel rips or water suddenly works differently, your assumption that this method of drying off works will remain true and the habit will remain a reflex.
We also make assumptions based on our understanding of the world. If you walk outside without a helmet, your actions rest on the assumption that nothing will randomly fall from the sky and hit you.
If you write your list for the next day the night before, your actions rest on the assumption that you will wake up tomorrow and be better prepared for (and more in control of) your day.
And if you follow the Pomodoro Technique, your behaviors rest on the assumption that the optimal timeframe for focus is 25 minutes before taking a 5-10 minute break.
I don’t suggest interrogating things like, “Will the floor be there tomorrow when I go to get out of bed?” without a significant change in your usual paradigm, but it’s worth taking time periodically to assess your behavior to better understand why you’re doing what you’re doing.
You should also challenge the frameworks and methods you’ve come to accept to ensure they still work for you and build a world in which you want to live.
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All theories make assumptions
“All theories make assumptions. To apply the theory, you need to understand the assumptions it makes.”
My graduate professor was talking specifically about critical theories, but his statement resonated with me because it has applications outside of analyzing Shakespeare.
A critical theory is an approach to culture, and especially to literature. Think back to English class when your teacher talked about using a psychoanalytic lens. That’s a critical theory.
These theories serve as a way to analyze a text and derive meaning from it. In simpler terms, they work like a lens. That lens shapes how you understand what you read.
Most of us aren’t analyzing literature, but we confront different ways of looking at things every day by reading articles, watching YouTube videos, and even engaging in conversations. The views, ideas, and arguments presented are also based on assumptions.
And before you say, “Well that makes the person writing the article an ass,” let me say: you can’t build an argument without basing it on one or more assumptions.
Thinkers will call attention to assumptions and break down their thinking as Jon Haidt does in his article on mental health for The Free Press.
But many people will not. It’s often on you to deconstruct what they’re saying so you can identify the assumptions holding up the argument and assess them.
This work is as essential as understanding why you do some of the things you do out of habit — perhaps more so. The ideas we put out into the world have the power to change it.
Once you’ve identified and assessed the assumptions, you may determine the argument doesn’t hold water or causes more harm than good. Whatever you determine, you understand how the point of view works, which means you’re in a position to understand how it would spread or how it’s shaping the world right now.
You’re also in a position to adopt different assumptions, develop a different perspective, and chart a different course of action.
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Assumptions and work
Your work has the power to shape the world, and you make assumptions in that work. But here’s the thing: you can test your assumptions.
Businesses designed to thrive in the value economy exist to deliver value. They assume that the people they serve exist and need that value.
This assumption makes it critical to engage the people you serve when defining the value you deliver. It also means you need to check in with them regularly to ensure that value hasn’t shifted. A shift in the value you need to deliver will result in changes that cascade throughout your entire business.
You also set goals to move you forward. Those goals move your business into the future and toward a world that doesn't yet exist.
Until you can see the future, articulate your assumptions when you set your goals. Doing so helps you to understand your thinking and share that thinking with your whole team.
It also sets you up to design better approaches to reaching your goals. You can incorporate pilots and other ways to test your assumptions in addition to testing if the approach will effectively hit the target it’s intended to hit.
And then there’s one of the biggest assumptions in work: “Well, we’ve always done it this way.”
Much like you take time to assess your behavior to understand why you’re doing what you’re doing, as a business, you also need to understand the assumptions that caused certain behaviors to become habits so you can determine if doing things that way still works for you moving forward.
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Only assholes use the adage
We need assumptions to make sense of the world. Rather than try to remove them from life, we need to recognize that they exist and learn to both identify and assess them.
When we do, we have greater clarity on why we do things we do out of habit, a deeper understanding of how ideas work and the impact they could make on the world, and a greater ability to adapt as a business that delivers the value someone needs in the first place.
If I were to revise the adage, it would read, “assumptions that are unidentified and unassessed make an ass out of you and me.” I'd also note that those assumptions can shape the world for the worse.
Funny, I suspect somewhere we know this already. It’s why people state the adage after you’re standing with egg dripping off your chin: it’s a way of saying you should have known better.
And let’s be honest, it’s also their way of rubbing your nose in your mistake. You can now tell the next person who says, “Well, you know what they say about assumptions…” that they’re the only one being an ass — and why.
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