Better Answers Make the Original Question More Important

Executive Field Note 025

A better answer feels like progress.

Often it is.

But every improvement in the answer increases the consequences of the question being wrong.

More data.

Better analysis.

Greater intelligence.

Faster computation.

None of them repairs an unexamined premise.

As answers become more powerful, the quality of the question becomes more—not less—important.

What question becomes more dangerous as your ability to answer it improves?

Published by Executive Insights. A publication of Axiom Research Press