To assume or not to assume

I do a lot of assumptions.  I assume constantly in various instances or contexts, and in the recent years I have been doing it also as part of my work.  Being an architect, I have to make a lot of assumptions.  Assumptions on the people who will be using the space I’m designing, assumptions regarding values of land and property, assumptions regarding structures, and so on.  When I meet people, I immediately assume a number of things about them, (some may call these prejudices), but since I don’t judge people according to my assumptions, I’d rather refer to them as assumptions.  Anyway having such a good experience I consider myself a pro (professional – Americans say pro :P) in assuming.

This skill of mine however came to a big test this week, when I was invited to join some friends at a bar a couple of blocks away from my house.  For some reason I assumed that this bar was the same place I had already been with these friends, a couple of weeks before in the same street.  So I headed out for this bar.  

When I thought I was almost there, I phoned my friends, and asked for the door number.  Surprise surprise it was 1400, and I was at 2500.  I questioned the person on the other end, and I told her, but I’m sure that last time we’ve been here we passed by through all these different landmarks, and I kept insisting.  Finally I decided to walk back to 1400, sure that when I reach 1400, I will have to go back to where I was.

The more I walked, the closer I was to home, so the stranger the situation looked.  When I arrived at 1400, I found out that there was actually a bar, but it wasn’t the bar I thought my friends were at.  Suddenly it dawned on me, that my friends never told me that I had already been to this bar with them.  I had just assumed that, and I never checked with them, I just headed out.

This made me think of all the assumptions we do in life, and how erroneous sometimes we can be.  This experience didn’t change my view that assumptions are a necessary tool in life, but reminded me of some basic rules, which need to be followed. 

Firstly, always state all you assumptions, and communicate them with all involved.  Look for other information that substantiates your assumptions.  When there are clear indications that your assumptions might be wrong, don’t be stubborn, do not persist in believing these as the solid truth.  Remember that all in all, these are just assumptions.

Mistakes are providential, because they remind us, no matter how pro we believe we are, we are still prone to failure.

So assuming that this little bit of street wisdom, would be appreciated by you, I decided to share it with you.  I have much more to tell you about what I’ve been doing, so probably I’ll be updating my blog several times this week.  

Keep checking it for updates!!