Every tool created by humans has situational strengths and situational weaknesses.
The trick is to figure out how to balance the risks with the rewards. Then you can make intelligent decisions about how to use technology.
Consider, for example, the question of computer security.
Is it safe to use a computer that’s connected to the internet?
Depends.
If you don’t know how to avoid scams, and you leave the computer open to hackers, then it’s not safe.
The hackers are getting smarter, and the scams are getting more clever.
But most users are plodding along with the same mindset, generally they’re lax about security.
More to the point: they don’t understand how to properly assess risk and reward in the digital world.
Why would so many people use passwords like “password” or “123456”?
It’s because they just want their lives to be easy and believe that picking a simple password is the easy way to remember it.
In other words, they’ve traded off vital security for lazy simplicity.
I have a very successful friend who’s made loads of money investing in hundreds of large-scale international businesses.
I don’t know anyone better able to weigh the complex risks and rewards inherent in deciding whether to invest in a large company.
My friend’s problem is a common one among tech-unsavvy folk: he wants incompatible things: high degree of security that’s simple and easy for him to use.
That is…
He wants a result that is the product of no tradeoffs. He doesn’t understand how digital security works, which is fine.
Understanding tech tradeoffs is not his job. Nor should it be.
But it should be someone’s job.
If you have trouble figuring the tradeoffs, then get someone who can help you. And always remember: a lot of tech options “seem like a good idea” in theory, but turn out to be not so great in practice.
So, get tech help from people who truly understand the “tradeoff equation,” and won’t try to steer you to something just so they can make money selling you a tradeoff that’s not best for you.
So, for example, avoid these folks.
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