Online information is abundant but not always accurate
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Leaders can’t afford to stop learning or be closed minded. But in a world flooded with free information and hot takes they can and should be open minded skeptics.
I was doing some research this morning on max heart rate and like any modern man I read some articles online. It showed me once again how important it is to be careful what we believe.
To illustrate, let’s play a little game called “spot the inconsistency”. You ready? Carefully read these two statements below:
- Max heart rate has nothing to do with how fit you are.
- Your max heart rate can decline if you become unfit.
I’m sure you were able to see that these statements contradict each other. I read a fair amount about health and fitness, and the number of conflicting articles still astounds me.
What makes the above two statements even worse is they’re from THE SAME article. We’ve gotten to the point where even an individual article can be internally inconsistent.
The internet, smartphones and Google have formed a powerful combination. They’ve not only caused a massive increase in information but also given us easy access to it all. But easy access does not mean accurate access.
We should remain both curious and skeptical. This experience is just another good reminder that free and abundant online information is no substitute for solid research and the scientific method.