What Matters?

In the age of deep fakes and the de-throning of science, trust is dead. Instead of asking what is trustworthy, I am asking: "What matters? " and seeking to measure it.

In the age of deep fakes and the de-throning of science, trust is dead. Certainty is an illusion.

I feel compelled to get poetic. "Trust is dead. Long live trust." Trust from faith, trust from measuring everything that matters, trust from transparent methods. Trust from verification. Trust from validation. Trust that all we need is:

• credible signals,

• tolerable uncertainty, and

• to act.

"In God we trust, all others, bring evidence." ~ Rob Califf, two-time former FDA Commissioner. I've heard Rob Califf say this many times over the years. I've repeated it to others. I was reminded of this a few days ago as I practiced telling a story about an FDA decision. The story was about tolerable uncertainty and evidence. (The punchline: FDA's not the enemy...asking FDA to clear something when uncertainty is not tolerable is a good way to get frustrated...)

In the age of AI writing for us, cheap businesses proliferating, and trying to do "good" in the world, I find myself seeking new sources of evidence for what is good and how to measure it. Measurement, transparent methods, and results are needed, but measurement is often expensive and companies refrain from measuring for whatever reasons.

I believe that we can measure everything that matters, to a tolerable level of uncertainty, at a tolerable cost and speed. I'm pursuing tests of that belief. Here are some sources that help me have faith that it's worth pursuing.

John Doerr's Measure What Matters

Doug Hubbard's How to Measure Anything

Therefore, if we can measure everything that matters, what matters?

That, is quite the question, if you really dig into it.

~Shannon, the Optimistic Optimizer