Battle of Wits Scene from The Princess Bride

I’ve mentioned before that I spend some time with young teenagers. Every May, we watch an end-of-school-year movie.  The Princess Bride is a popular choice. Perhaps that is why during a recent discussion with a client I found myself thinking about iocaine powder! In The Princess Bride, Wesley has developed a high tolerance to the poison and therefore, challenges “The Sicilian” to a which-goblet-has-the-poison battle of wits. But it is no contest, really, because both goblets contain iocaine: so Wesley knows he will win.

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Sometimes a simple question can shatter the way you look at things.

What if you worked at the Social Security Administration and someone asked you for the data on the number of people in the U.S. over 100 years old. When the data was examined, you discovered that 6.5 million people aged 112 or older were still listed as alive according to Social Security Admin records. Many still receiving social security benefits. One simple question and now the Social Security Admin is being asked “How could this happen?” and they are looking for ways to reorganize the data. The data they believed was fairly accurate proved to have no logical checkpoints. Just cross-checking the Master Death Index to Medicare Patients has shown that very few of the over 111-year-olds had entered Medicare claims and that those that did weren’t 111 years old. The cross check was an easy concept but one that no one ever thought of using until that one simple question revealed a crack in the system.

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Ok. I admit it. I’m an addict.

No, my addiction is not the first thing that comes to mind when you hear about addiction. I—like many people, young and old—am addicted to my smartphone.

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