This may be a subject difficult for some people to agree with, but our modern world carries a troubling burden at the moment and with no end in sight: the struggle with true identity.
There are some who say that what makes a man/woman is not their potential, pedigree, intelligence, or even their highest wishes…but their deeds.
And it may seem quite popular to gloss over one’s decisions and to blatantly announce that “this should not define them.” But when we meet someone for the first time (a co-worker, love interest, neighbor, or anyone who may potentially be closer to us sooner or later), the first place we look to whether they can be trusted is by finding out what their past deeds were.
Have they chosen to use their time wisely in life?
Have they been good to others?
Maybe they pursued knowledge, adventure, or service to others?
All these factors eventually add up to what we might call the truth about someone.
Coming from data science, I have learned that information can only be derived from things that can be counted or measured. Success, as well as bad deeds, leaves clues for us. And public information is the ether we must use to base fair assessments of one another. We must take this responsibility seriously for the sake of not being judged unfairly or uncharacteristically.