Ulterior

A few questions can save your life.

The most important and powerful question is particularly potent because we don’t even need to utter it.

We already know that asking “Why?” can keep us alive because it keeps us curious forever; we can’t die if we’re always growing.

But “why” can also protect us from ulterior motives and misinformation.

All information should be questioned — especially when it fits into our narrative or aligns with our existing biases.

The first question we ask ourselves (consciously or not) when digesting data is:

“Does this fit my internal narrative and beliefs about the world?”

A better question to ask would be:

“Is this logical?”

But by far the most important question is:

“Why is this person telling me this?”

The motive for conveying information is often far more revealing than the information itself.