From the desk of Dr. Moshe Zloof: Advice of the week-- April 8, 09)

Spreading rumors by prematurely "connecting the dots" - By Dr. Moshe Zloof

Images are not always what they seem, so if you jump to conclusions in error and start discussing them, you may be spreading false rumors. Example: A man with dark glasses, a dog and a stick approaches you. As your eyes take in the details, your brain "connects the dots" and you draw the conclusion that the man must be blind. Iimmediately, empathy and emotions relating to the blind are evoked. Upon second look, however, you are amazed to discover that the man is not blind, but rather a dog walker enjoying a sunny day. The stick you mistook for a cane is really a pooper scooper. How could you make such a mistake!

Our brains are wired to "connect the dots" by comparing new scenes or images to something familiar in our memory bank. We try to make sense of our current surroundings through past experiences. Our emotional perspective also factors into how we connect the dots.

Example: You spy a married, middle-aged woman kissing a younger man outside of a hotel. You realize that you know her and happen to dislike her based on a past encounters. Your negative emotions for her, combined with the kiss you witnessed and the location leads your brain to wrongly connect the dots and conclude that this woman is having an affair. But you are wrong! In fact, the young man happens to be her son, not her lover!

Although you may be very certain about what you have seen, your interpretation may be inaccurate based on you past experiences or negative emotions. The above examples demonstrate how rumors can be fabricated in error and spread, potentially causing irrevocable harm.

Advice: When you only have partial data at your disposal, don't let your brain play tricks on you and wrongly connect the dots. Avoid drawing conclusions, especially when you are biased against someone. And, even if you do draw the wrong conclusion, keep it to yourself and don't spread it around until you are 100% sure of all of the facts. This happens a lot when people draw premature conclusions: on a blind date after a bad previous date experiences, or even something your spouse did that you took the wrong way and consequently started a fight.

This weekly ADVICE is part of the MindVisualizer TM program. MindVisualizer TM advice is represented by a visual picture so you can better remember.