We need to approach the thing via various methods to confirm it is really genuinely true and therefore valid as a fact upon which you can build your model of absolutely anything.

The concept of truth and objectivity is the one plaguing lips, quills, thoughts and discussions of philosopher from way back then and the one scientific efforts of the past couple of hundred years have been dealing with, as well as we ourselves in our personal and communal lives. What is true? We’ll that’s tricky. Our memories and senses fool us, our mind plays tricks, our emotional lives and cultural upbringings are full of pathologies we may not be aware of, “facts” of the world may have conditions attached to them and are not entirely or always true. But if you’re looking for the source you need an unshakable thing that can withstand poking, prodding and undermining from all sides. Only then can it be used in any context as a basis for action.

The multitrait-multimethod matrix is basically a set of tools to find out what is true or, to put it in more fancy terms, to examine construct validity. Constructs are things that are built, constructed as the world says, and anything constructed by a fallible being may have faults so it needs to be checked to see if it can stand up on its own. This was the goal of Campbell and Fiske which developed the method in 1959. What is true and valid? We don’t know, but they suggested that we can know with greater certainty by employing the method of analyzing thing thorough different methods, having different vantage points from which to enter and see if the result is reproducible. So in everyday use: Take advantage of your different senses and faculties to figure things out. Don’t go in just trough reason, use your emotion as well, listen, watch, see. It’s easy to think yourself into believing something. Is there evidence in the real? The words I love you are empty if there are no actions to back it up. The problem you’re having might not even exist in the real, look at it from more angles. Is it there or is it just your anxiety playing a trick on you making you see issues that are not there? Can you trust someone? Is this business move gonna give results? What’s that stupid thing you know you’re doing costing you? All of this can be weight from various angles. If you find overlaps in the results/conclusions there is a big chance that a thing is true and not just an anomaly attributed to circumstance, chance or your (current) context or point of view?

Try and find what is real, especially when faced with big decisions. Take your time to figure it out and act accordingly? Lies and betrayals hurt in part because they make us doubt the reality of the structure of “facts” we’ve built our lives on. Truth matters. Knowing it as close as you possibly can makes a difference and allows you to move in the world with opened eyes, wisdom,  grace, purpose and effect.