Several years ago, I wrote a piece about “studying” and how I thought I would be pretty good at it. I would be willing to study anything for anyone and give them the answer they were looking for.  Alas, nobody took me up on it, so that fortune went down the drain.

Several years later, studying has taken on a new prominence. It seems that everyone is sharing this study and that study on social media and using their study of choice as gospel.

Well, that’s not reality, folks. Another thing that’s not reality is “free.” People talk about free healthcare, free college, etc.  There is a basic thing that frigs up this “free” thing.  The argument that things are a “right” suffers from the same malady. 

For things to be “free” or a “right” they can’t depend on anyone else supplying them. Doctors, nurses, cleaning people, and maintenance people in hospitals expect to get paid.  In fact, they need to get paid because what they do has value.

Professors, cafeteria people, and grounds people at colleges need to get paid, as well.

All these folks provide value and to argue for “free” means that these folks have no value and that’s a hollow argument.

If people want to debate universal paying for colleges and health care, that’s a different subject, but more accurate.  The valuable people who provide these services expect and need to be compensated for what they do, and that means taxpayers need to pay the bill if the people who use the service don’t. Simple as that. 

So, that recliner on the side of the road is “free”, but not much of anything else is.

Sorry.  I got distracted.  I was talking about studying.  Here is reality: Whatever result you would like, someone will create a study to give you that result. There will be a fee.  You pay the fee. You get the study you want. It’s not that complicated. 

Like when you go the grocery store and want to buy potatoes. The potatoes are so much a pound.  You pay that price, you get potatoes.  Same deal. 

Here’s where it goes astray: Once people get the study that they asked for and paid for, they consider it gospel, the absolute truth, not to be challenged. That’s not reality, because I paid someone to study the opposite of what your premise was, and my study completely contradicts yours.

Here’s how this plays out in social media. There is some post about something, usually a national situation, and someone posts a link to a study that boosts their position.  First off, I’m fine with discussing a topic, but when you post a link, it tells me that you have nothing to say and are deferring to the person that did the study. See above to understand how much value you study link has.

On some posts it really gets good when someone with the opposite view posts their study.  Of course, that infuriates the folks on the other side of the aisle and they post another study. And on and on it goes. Study after study. Good for the business of studying.

Did you ever read about a person that was going to trial and all the evidence pointed to them being guilty, but their attorney is questioning all the evidence against their client? 

Everything points to the person being guilty.  How could an attorney try to make a case that that client is innocent?  Because it’s their job. Some are better at it than others, but it’s what they get paid to do.  Just like people who do studies. The are just that. 

Studies that give the results that were paid to deliver. You can’t get a free study that supports your position.  You will need to pay for that. The reason that someone must pay for the study that supports your position is that in order for the person doing the study to have credibility, they need to have a degree. That means they had to pay for that degree, and they can’t do your study for free.

So, the answer or explanation you’re looking for is out there, but the bad news is that there are other studies that blow your study out of the water.  I know you’re angry. I know these topics upset you, but you really need to take a different approach from posting studies.  Unless you would like to hire me to do your study.  I’m available and the contact information is at the bottom of the page.  

PS.  I don’t do studies for free.  I’ve got a lifetime invested in this knowledge. 

Bill Packard lives in Union and is the founder of BPackard.com. He is a speaker, author, small business coach and consultant.