Nathan Gilbert

Wiio's Laws

So many problems seem to come down to poor communication. I often think about these laws when information is being shared.

1. Communication usually fails, except by accident.
   • If communication can fail, it will.
   • If communication cannot fail, it still most usually fails.
   • If communication seems to succeed in the intended way, there's a misunderstanding.
   • If you are content with your message, communication certainly fails.
2. If a message can be interpreted in several ways, it will be interpreted in a manner that maximizes the damage.
3. There is always someone who knows better than you what you meant with your message.
4. The more we communicate, the worse communication succeeds.
   • The more we communicate, the faster misunderstandings propagate.
5. In mass communication, the important thing is not how things are but how they seem to be.
6. The importance of a news item is inversely proportional to the square of the distance.
7. The more important the situation is, the more probable you had forgotten an essential thing that you remembered a moment ago.

Wikipedia