Avoiding Gullibility

Gullibility is a fact of life. As a baby you heard about gullibility in your nursery tales. Remember the wolf that was masquerading as Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother? Gullibility pervades our heroic epics. Remember how the citizens of Troy thought that the big wooden horse was a magnificent present? Gullibility is infused in our holiday traditions—or did you never believe in Santa? PT Barnum, who coined the phrase, "There's a sucker born every minute," entertained millions with his circus. Even academic institutions that ought to know better were conned for years by the Piltdown man, a paleontological "missing link" in evolution that turned out to be, not a mistake, but an intentional hoax.

Gullibility may offer you a secret satisfaction when you see it in an enemy—they call that schadenfreude, if you believe me—but otherwise, being gullible is a trait to be avoided. It is to be especially avoided in business decisions where money changes hands and deals are built on trust.

You know that con men and back-stabbing schemers are out there. Many are very good at duping chumps. How do you avoid becoming their next victim?

At the top of the list is "Don't make impulsive decisions." Give yourself a little time to think things through. The old sleep-on-it advice is good because it gives you the opportunity to view a situation from a fresh perspective.

Next, do some fact checking. The Internet and modern business tools make this easier than ever. Entire websites like snopes.com, factcheck.org, and TruthOrFiction.com, and the popular TV show Myth Busters have all emphasized the importance of doing a little research.

Know Thyself. Socrates said it and it stands as some of the best advice ever given. The best hedges against gullibility grow atop the realization of your own weaknesses.

Paired with knowing your limitations is planning the defensive strategies to deal with and counteract them. In Stephen Greenspan's book, Annals of Gullibility, he calls this working up a "repertoire of disengagement tactics."

Practice social intelligence. A few people are naturally gifted, for others, social intelligence can be learned. A series of books is available that helps teach social cues even to autistic children; if a kid with a learning challenge can do it, you really have no excuse.

Be cautious in your networking. Build a special network of people who have proven themselves trustworthy and who will look out for your best interests.