Comments on: Who Do You Trust?

By: kurtz

kurtz — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 13:28:13 +0000

I trust people who make admissions and assertions against self interest when disclosures are made for all motivations they might have in so doing.

I trust people who make tangible or material sacrifices for the benefit of others.

I trust people who make mistakes, admit to doing so when they realize it and attempt to correct the error to the extent of their ability.

I trust people who acknowledge and disclose their biases and self-interest before presenting their argument or position.

By: The Big Picture

The Big Picture — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 11:10:29 +0000

Micro-Hoo!: Desktop vs Internet

Alternative title: Who Do You Trust?, Part II Last month, we looked at the question: Who Do You Trust?. That discussion considered how the issue of trust impacts various corporate tech firms. In light of yesterday’s Micro-Hoo! announcement (Ya-soft?), …

By: ef

ef — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:33:13 +0000

For so much talk about being a "Christian nation", many seem to have forgotten the very simple Golden Rule. There's always been unethical people, but the pendulum swung toward the more honest, hardworking, good-hearted community-oriented people. Being ethical, being honest, is not free, and takes a strong people. Trustworthiness is local. The people that deal with you fairly and with respect, not like you are another replaceable widget among billions. From a technical perspective: Open Source Code Contains Security Holes

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 02:14:36 +0000

How Johnny Carson got his start.

By: Estragon

Estragon — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 16:39:15 +0000

David Merkel’s point is extremely well taken. Without trust, not only modern capitalism but modern society as we know it would be impossible.

The older I get, the more I understand that the problem is with looking at issues like trust in absolute, binary terms. Reality is shades of grey, levels of trust, degrees of freedom.

By: D H

D H — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 16:22:44 +0000

Apparently we all trust with blind faith the fiat dollar … the gas station just accepted more of mine this morning.

By: Robert

Robert — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 16:00:43 +0000

I trust reason and logic, nothing else. Well… To a certain extent, I trust the customer reviews (provided there are enough of them) of products all over the internet. When I buy computer parts from Newegg, the first thing I do is sort by most reviews – The stuff that has been purchased more is the stuff that has been found to be a good value. And I always get quality stuff at an excellent price. Gotta love that. I trust that my dog, when I leave her alone for more than thirty minutes, will make herself comfortable on my couch. I certainly don’t trust the government or politicians (although Paul gets more trust than most). Hell, the older I get, the less and less I trust the world in general – I realized long ago that what drives nearly every human action is essentially selfishness; it just hasn’t completely sunk in yet. You know what? I trust people who act entirely in their own interest – At least I know what to expect from them.

By: anon

anon — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 13:29:19 +0000

I trust my wife and mom and i carry a 357

By: NoFate

NoFate — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 06:56:31 +0000

I trust very few entities/people. Most people are either incompetent, ignorant or have some hidden agenda. I am more likely to trust those without any conflicting interest. That’s why I prefer most blogs over corporate media.

There are a few who have never let me down or lied to me (as far as I know):
- The Economist
- Keith Olberman
- Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert
- Big Picture
- Calculated Risk
- John Maulden
- Robert Shiller
- Probably a few more…

It’s a pretty short list and if you blow it once I never trust you again. Blowing it might be as simple as writing things that don’t seem to “ring true.” Like listening to the Presidents Spokesliar …they never outright lie, but you know there are fishy things going on …normal people just don’t talk like that.

On the other hand, some of the people on the list are there because they took great risk at times to tell the truth.

As far as corporations go, I don’t trust any of then. I have nothing against them per se, it’s just that they are profit driven (as they should be). If they are doing the “right thing” it is ONLY because their brand image demands it.

Also, if you trust a “corporation” what does that even mean? Are you trusting the board, the CEO, the executive team, the employees, or the shareholders? And lets say you pick the CEO …do you have to reconsider when he leaves? Do you trust the company he goes to?

I know companies spend billions developing trust as part of their brand image, but it’s kind of bizarre to “trust” any company if you think about it.

By: KP

KP — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 02:25:15 +0000

Trust no one. Not even yourself. Everyone, including you has an agenda/bias which dictates their choices/behavior. Understand this concept completely and learn to use it to filter the noise.