The Duck Test And The Truth That Comes In Strange Disguises
The duck test is conventionally understood to be a form of abductive reasoning, and expressed as:
"If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck."
The test implies that if something has various characteristics which all suggest the same thing then that it what is probably is. This is a less analytical version of occams razor.
This can often lead to lazy thinking and, as a heuristic, it can be unreliable because it is based on analogy and what appears to be similar may not be.
I use the phrase "the duck test" as a personal shorthand for the process of triangulation which I use when I see what I perceive to be generic or universal truth in all sorts of seemingly unlikely and unconnected places.
The Process Of Triangulation
In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is defined as the process of determining the location of a point by measuring angles to it from known points at either end of a fixed baseline, rather than measuring distances to the point directly.
GPS uses 3 satellites to triangulate
your position. The police can predict your phone’s location by using the
data from 3 cell towers.
Triangulation is a term that was borrowed from surveying, where it
refers to the collection of different compass bearings (usually three,
hence triangulation) in order to pinpoint a location on a map.
The Big Assumption That Underpins The Duck Test
Before I explain what I mean by the duck test - and how I apply it, I must declare a belief or big assumption that I hold and that underlies this approach.
My big assumption is that truth is generic and universal – however, whenever and wherever it manifests.
So for me, the duck test together with "the big assumption" is the basis of my whole
perspective on life which is, as far as I am capable, holistic and
multi-dimensional.
I see generic truth in all sorts of seemingly unlikely and unconnected places.
If you do not hold or share this belief, then this process may not work for you. But that’s OK – we’re all different, and we function differently.
The Truth May Come In Strange Disguises
Truth may appear in different ways.
The truth may come in strange disguises, but if the filters in our minds are set wide enough, we may see it.
As it is said: "seek and you will find".
So when I see something in any diverse area of life or field of inquiry that resonates - it maybe an idea, a perspective, or a dimension - I pay careful attention to it.
When at some other time, I see the core or essence of the same thing reappear in my mental field of vision, re-expressed in a different framing, context and language I really start to pay attention.
If this occurs a third time I apply the duck test – that is if it walks like a duck, looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then chances are it is a duck!
When this occurs, the triangulation applies and I can see that each of the three seemingly different occurences are pointing to a generic or universal truth.
For example
The fields of science in general and specifically quantum physics seems to point in the direction of an energetic universe. This would suggest that we live in a universe of energy - literally and not just metaphorically.
Several of the world's oldest religions and philosophies describe this as "the ground of all being", "emptiness", "The Tao" or "the way".
I have observed and learned over many years that the energetic dimension of my life has a key - if not critical - bearing on my peace of mind and general well being and also in my effectiveness in life in realisation of goals and objectives.
Are all these perspectives, insights and understandings pointing to a univeral or generic truth that is framed in a different language according to the domain of reference?
Personally I have come to view that this all of these perspectives are fundamentally talking about the same thing. On this site I refer to this as The Energy Of Life and Consciousness.
Then as my thinking, observation and experimentation in my own life developed I came to the view that we are Living In A Participatory Universe. In other words, we don't just exist in an inert, "blank canvas" universe we live in an interactive energy field that responds to our own dominant energetic states.
I have also discovered that the more we seek to align with this energy or consciousness the more it responds and interacts and shapes our experence of life and most critically how we respond to it.
So, if these really are generic /universal truths - or close to being such - then the personal ramifications are huge.
How we frame experiences has potentially a big impact on how we respond to events in our life which in turn causes or attracts more of the same.
[I do not subscribe to the popular view on the law of attraction but despite its distortions and simple minded approach to "manifestation" it does, in my view, contains the seeds of a partial truth vis-a-vis the perspectives outlined above.]
Our inner self talk matters.
Our relationship with our thoughts matters.
In conclusion, whilst you may not agree with my take on all this, I trust that as a minimum you can agree with the late Wayne Dyer when he said:
"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."
Next Article: How Things Are
Return from "The Duck Test" to: How To Change Your Life
Your second block of text...
- What if everything we think…
LATEST ARTICLES
The Balanced Brain - The Ultimate Route To Personal Transformation
How To Experience The Benefits Of A Balanced Brain. Underpinning all of the belief systems and practices that offer routes to personal change, transformation and spiritual growth is the balanced brain…How To Make Better Decisions - By Avoiding The Narrative Trap
To Understand The Truth We Have To See The Whole Picture. One of the best ways to make better decisions is to have a deeper understanding of the many things that might stop that happening. To understa…The Greatest Love - The Most Important Relationship You Will Ever Have
Yet Most Will Never Know It Everyone of us has a place, in our hearts there's a space, that is home to the greatest love of all. This love transcends everything we think we know about the world of for…Everything Is Connected And Why You Don't Feel It
...And Why It Matters
As human beings we are skating on very thin ice with our sense of self and certainty about "how things are" and what we like to think of as reality:
Who Is In Charge Of Your Brain?
How Not To Be Stupid. Who is in charge of your brain? This is not a silly questions. It matters because the outcomes that you experience in your life are determined by how you respond to the events th…How To Be A Winner On A Very Large Scale
The Incredible Benefits Of Selective Attention. This is not a typical article about how to be a winner. We are not going to talk about goal setting, the importance of habits, the power of focus and al…The Metagame Approach To Life
How To Achieve Your Biggest Objectives.
The metagame approach to life is all about winning and achieving your biggest objectives by:
- Understanding the bigger picture
- Being better by doing things d…Shantideva - The Way Of The Bodhisattva
Walking The Path Of Compassion. Shantideva the 8th century Indian Buddhist sage is famous for his treatise "The Way of the Bodhisattva" delivered as an extended teaching to the monks of Nalanda monast…Reframing History - Deconstruction And Discussion Not Destruction
History is always about context, not imposing our own moral values on the past. For those of us fortunate enough to live within western democracies, we are living in an age where a vociferous and into…Tao Te Ching - Connecting To Your True Source Of Power.
How To Be Lived By The Tao. The Tao Te Ching is one of those books that many people read, few understand, and even fewer put into practice. The only way to know the Tao is to experience it, and it is…How Things Really Are - The Inbuilt Design Flaws
Chaos, Disorder And Decay Is The Natural Order Of Things. Nobody has the perfect life. We all struggle and strive to attain health, wealth and personal happiness. Yet these three big areas: our health…Intuition Or Anxiety - Are There Angels Or Devils Crawling Here?
How To Tell The Difference Between Intuition and Anxiety. How do you know whether the voice of your intuition is real or just the product of your inner anxiety? Several months ago I was having a drink…What Is Truth - How To Tell A Partial Truth From The Whole Truth?
How the truth and nothing but the truth is often not the whole truth. My great aunty Flo broke her arm and died. It is true that she broke her arm in 1923. It is also true that she died in 1949. But t…Duality And Life Beyond Your Thinking Mind
Duality and life beyond your thinking mind focuses on the limitations of time, foreground and background, duality and "stuckness". The first aspect of duality and life beyond your thinking mind focuse…The Conscious Mind Is Limited - Be Aware And Be Prepared
Being aware is the first stage of being prepared. The conscious mind is limited in so many ways. There are some who would argue that there is no such thing as conscious thought and that it is represen…Your Inner Map Of Reality - Here's Why You Think The Way You Do
The big picture of how your inner map of reality creates your feelings, thoughts, and behaviours. Your inner map of reality is based on the filters of your own ethnic, national, social, family and rel…The Failure Of Cancel Culture - Suppression Not Engagement
Why we need to wear our beliefs lightly and develop negative capability. Throughout history people have campaigned to fight beliefs, ideologies, and injustices that they perceived to be oppressive, di…4 Big Reasons Why We Get Stuck In Our Attempts At Personal Change
Most People Spend Their Entire Life Imprisoned Within The Confines Of Their Own Thoughts. This first of the 4 big reasons why we get stuck is, in my view, the most important. The "self-help industry…How Do I Change And Why Is It So Hard?
We Would Rather Die Than Change, And We Usually Do In my experience, the vast majority of people who say they want to change don’t change. Most people reading this won’t change because they don’t real…The Illusion Of A Separate Self - Windows 11 With Self Awareness!
Beyond the content of your mind you are so much more than you think you are. When we talk of "myself" this is the conventional way of referring to our self image which is in fact the ego's constructio…Finite And Infinite Games - Dazed, Confused & Ultimately Transcendent
This is not an instruction manual, it is a wake up call!
Over this past week I have read Professor James Carse's highly regarded "Finite And Infinite Games - A Vision Of Life As Play And Possibility"…The Gap And The Gain - How Your Brain Sabotages Your Happiness
How Your Lizard Brain Sabotages Your Happiness We are hardwired to measure our progress in any and all areas of life where we have goals and aspirations. We can't not do it. But what we measure and ho…How To Wake Up - 4 Simple Practices To Help You Wake Up Now
So What Exactly Does It Mean to Wake Up - What Is "Enlightenment"? There is nothing magical, mystical or mysterious about waking up we’re actually having glimpses of enlightenment all the time. Enligh…Situational Communication - Different Strokes For Different Folks
Situational communication is about taking account of 3 often ignored factors about the other person. You are a situational communicator when you recognise that effective communication is not an event…How To Influence Without Authority - 6 Key Tips
The secret to how to influence without authority is that you get what you really want by giving other people what they really want. We live in an interconnected world and knowing how to influence with…Change Questions To Change Your Outcomes
Asking The Right Questions Is Critical For A Successful Change. Every time we initiate a significant change - whether in our personal life or in an organisation - we will most likely over-estimate our…Group Culture - The Invisible Software That Rules Your Life
Group culture is: "How we do things round here". We like to see ourselves as free agents making our own choices and living authentically but the reality is that The Matrix has many layers and we are u…Why Getting From A to B Is Not Aways A Straight Line
In circumstances of significant change, the progress from A to B will not be in a straight line. We run our lives largely on auto-pilot. In most circumstances your experience of getting from A to B is…The Art Of Persuasion Planning For Success - Here's How To Do It!
To be successful in the art of persuasion you must ensure that certain things happen. To be successful in the art of persuasion you must establish a framework of what has to happen to get you to that…The Art Of Persuasion Advanced Communication Skills - Gaining Buyin
Create The Environment Where They Want To Buyin to Your Proposal In order to build the win-win you have to uncover what it is that the other person really wants or needs, and to do that you have to as…