The Assessment Paradox
Published on Sep聽14, 2024, filed under management, philosophy. (Share this post, e.g., on Mastodon or on聽Bluesky.)
Beware, Jens writing Jens things.
For any individual or group A we may think that it can assess itself best because it knows itself best.
This is not reliable, however, because it may not know its effect on other individuals or groups, and because it may have a vested interest in the assessment and its consequences.
We may then think it鈥檚 individuals or groups B, C, &c. interacting with that other individual or group A who may be able to assess A.
This is not so, however, because by virtue of permanent exposure (and probably by virtue of existence), A must be able to assess itself better.
Examples
Two examples:
Take myself. I know myself better than you do, pretty much because if there鈥檚 one person I鈥檓 hanging out with literally all the time, then it鈥檚 me. However, I cannot know my effect on you or others, and so you can assess this effect of mine more accurately (though others may be able to do so even better).
Take the field of, say, web development (and therefore the group of web developers). There鈥檚 no field who knows web development so well like the field of web development. However, they don鈥檛 know as well how they affect others, and they have a vested interest in anything web development.
An Attempt at a Resolution
Can鈥檛 we say, then, that in order to assess some individual or group, we need both the individual or group to be assessed, and some individuals or groups they鈥檙e affecting?
If there鈥檚 anything this means, then yes.
That鈥檚 why practically, we do things like 360掳 feedback.
Yet, there are a number of reasons why this is not sufficient. The most important ones include:
- Each party, especially the individual or group being assessed, has an interest in the assessment and/or its outcomes (i.e., it may be biased).
- It鈥檚 usually not possible to get an assessment from all parties involved.
- We bump into severe issues around truth (what is it, how can we confirm it) and completeness (can we attain it, and if not, what does it mean for the assessment).
A Resolution
There is no resolution.
Theoretically it鈥檚 possible (and not even hard) to get to one, but it leads to the Absolute where there is no space and time and everything is one.
Practically, however, there is no accurate assessment we can get from or about anyone.
Does the world stop because of this?
No.
But it鈥檚 interesting to think about. Is it not.
About Me
I鈥檓 Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I鈥檓 an engineering lead, guerrilla philosopher, and indie publisher. I鈥檝e worked as a technical lead and engineering manager for companies you use every day (like Google) and companies you鈥檝e never heard of, I鈥檓 an occasional contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and I write and review books for O鈥橰eilly and Frontend Dogma.
I love trying things, not only in web development and engineering management, but also with respect to politics and philosophy. Here on meiert.com I talk about some of my experiences and perspectives. (Please share feedback: Interpret charitably, but do be critical.)