Mark Twain once said, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” Twain's quote provides two key lessons: first, why double negatives in a sentence are a terrible idea, and second, how assumptions can lead one into trouble. Assumptions affect all levels of decision-making; however, when national leaders make assumptions, trouble can rapidly escalate to chaos and turmoil.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his military suffered fro
“There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur, or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear.
