Misinformation

I'm not sure if it's fair to call the absence of correct information "misinformation," since the deliberate misleading factor is missing...but I will say that it is very difficult to make good decisions in the absence of accurate information.

For example, this morning.

I woke up, got out of bed...and out of the house very early. I needed two items for my day that I did not have at home, and would not be able to obtain at work. A variety of options presented themselves:

a) I could stop at the makolet (convenience store). They open at 7:00 AM, and if I rushed, I could probably even make the 7:20-ish bus. But the makolet is expensive.

b) I could stop at the slightly-further-away neighborhood supermarket. They open at 6:30 AM (I think), and if I missed the 7:20 bus, the supermarket places me on my way to other buses, so any real delay would be unlikely. But they're also expensive.

Instead, I decided to be "smart."

c) The office complex where I spend much of my working hours is across the street from a major mall. The mall has a supermarket on its ground floor. That supermarket, though by no means the cheapest in the city, was likely to have better prices than the neighborhood supermarket, and by going there, I'd certainly make my early bus...and get in to work quickly.

Indeed, I made the early bus. I sat one additional stop, getting off at the mall, crossed the street, and entered through the garage, heading to the mall supermarket. The time was 7:40...as I discovered when the security guard at the gated entrance to the supermarket told me that the store only opens at 8:00 AM.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mlrs193/6015396482/

If I'd only but known...