Filter

Filter Test - a lesson to learn before you speak  up

In ancient Greece, scholar and intellectual, Dr. Socrates was  reputed to 
hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great 
philosopher and said, “Do you know what I just heard about one of 
your friends?”

“Hold on a minute,” Dr. Socrates replied. “Before telling  me 
anything I’d like you to pass a little test. It’s called  the 
Triple Filter Test.”

“Triple filter?” asked the  man.
“That’s right,” Dr. Socrates continued. “Before you  talk to me  
about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and 
filter what  you’re going to say. That’s why I call it the triple 
filter  test.

The first filter is Truth.
Have you made absolutely  sure that what you are about to tell 
me is true?”

“No,” the man said,  “actually I just heard about it and wanted 
to tell it to you” “All right,” said  Socrates. “So you! don’t 
really know if it’s true or  not.
Now let’s try the second filter, the filter of   goodness.
Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something  good?”
“No, on the contrary, it is bad “
“So,” Socrates continued, “you  want to tell me  something bad 
about him, but you’re not certain it’s  true.
You may still 
pass the test though, because there’s one filter left:  
the filter of usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my 
friend  going to be useful to me?”
“No, not really.” Replied the  man.
“Well,” concluded Dr. Socrates, “if what you want  to tell me is  
neither true, nor good, and nor even useful to me, why tell it to 
me at all  .”

A Passing Thought:
An arrow which has left the bow  and killed an  innocent soul, 
and a spoken-word which has come out of your  mouth and hurt 
someone’s heart, both can never be recalled. So before you speak,  
please use the triple filter.

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