Did you ever wonder what might have been? Did you ever ponder what might have happened if you traversed the other road in a yellow wood? Do you now think the cards are stacked against you? Would you put your trust in an isosahedron? Are our lives subject to some rules of probability? Do you trust your decision-making process?

You are probably wondering has he lost it again? What has rattled his cage now? The fall off the soapbox had definitely unhinged him this time. Every day we make decisions. We attempt to apply logic to them. We divest in others our more important decision making. We develop a trust relationship and allow others that we ascribe to having a greater decision-making capability the responsibility of making decisions on our behalf.

In 1946, Abe Bookman invented the Magic 8-Ball, an oversized sphere representing a black and white pool ball. Inside the sphere was a white plastic icosahedral die floating in a blue liquid…The twenty isosceles triangles would rotate in the liquid until one pressed against the surface to reveal an answer to a Yes or No question. It is said some countries were ran on the spin of an 8-Ball.

It is interesting that the 8 Ball came about so soon after the Second World War. In a time of crisis we question our decision-making capability and put out faith in some mechanism to make decisions for us. The standard twenty answers that the 8-Ball gives go something like this, As I see it – yes, It is certain, It is decidedly so, Most likely, Outlook good, Signs point to yes, Without a doubt, Yes, Yes – definitely, You may rely on it, Reply hazy, try again, Ask again later, Better not tell you now, Cannot predict now, Concentrate and ask again, Don't count on it, My reply is no, My sources say no, Outlook not so good, Very doubtful. Ten of the answers give you varying shades of yes, five are non-commital and the last five are varying shades of no. So, we can say that three quarters of the answers will more or less suit everyone. Don’t all go rushing to send one to the cabinet table, they have been looking for one for the last few months.

In every decision that has to be made there are probabilities to be considered, there are statistics of some sort that can have a bearing and there is logic to be applied. It is rumoured that the government has approached the larger bookie firms in the country to find out who makes their decisions as they are the only ones applying there types of criteria at the minute who are doing so with a regularity and consistency we could live with.

When a panel of doctors was asked to vote on adding a new wing to their hospital, the Allergists voted to scratch it and the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves. The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the administration had a lot of nerve, and the Obstetricians thought they were all labouring under a misconception. The Ophthalmologists considered the idea short sighted; the Pathologists yelled "over my dead body", while the Paediatricians said "OH, grow up”. The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, the Radiologists could see right through it, and the Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing. The Plastic Surgeons said "This puts a whole new face on the matter. The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists felt the scheme wouldn't hold water. The Anaesthesiologists thought the whole idea was gas and the Cardiologists didn't have the heart to say no. In the end, the Proctologists left the decision up to some ****hole in administration.

Decision-making often cannot be a totally cerebral thing, we sometimes have to appeal to our heart and often we do have to do some soul-searching. Of course, some reading this would say that much male decision-making is lead by a different redirection in blood flow entirely. Suffice it to say decision-making cannot be a spin of the wheel thing. Rolling the 8-ball every day would take all the stress out of decision-making but would lead us down some very diverse pathways.

Our decision-making is often spontaneous, occurring seamlessly without us having to apply a host of ‘what-ifs’. It is when we come to applying perceptions and building if-then scenarios that we really get into trouble with the decision making process. These are terms preferred by the computer programmer. To try to get technology to come closer to replicating human thought process they apply mathematical constructs to build some ‘fuzzy logic’ into it. Monday morning fuzzy logic, closing stable door after horse has bolted logic and financial meltdown logic are truly the realm of the mere human.

The application of fuzzy logic combined with a dollop of spin can create an entirely different decision making cycle. This example from the computer industry demonstrates this quite well and also gives us food for thought into why we are in our present economic credit crunch:

Programmer to Team Leader: “We can't do this proposed project. CAN NOT. It will involve a major design change and no one in our team knows the design of this legacy system. And above that, nobody in our company knows the language in which this application has been written. So even if somebody wants to work on it, they can't. If you ask my personal opinion, the company should never take these types of projects."

Team Leader to Project Manager: “This project will involve a design change. Currently, we don't have any staff with experience in this type of work. Also, the language is unfamiliar to us, so we will have to arrange for some training if we take this project. In my personal opinion, we are not ready to take on a project of this nature."

Project Manager to First Level Manager: “This project involves a design change in the system and we don't have much experience in that area. Also, not many people in our company are appropriately trained for it. In my personal opinion, we might be able to do the project, but we would need more time than usual to complete it."

First Level Manager to Senior Level Manager: “This project involves design reengineering. We have some people who have worked in this area and others who know the implementation language. So they can train other people. In my personal opinion we should take this project, but with caution."

Senior Level Manager to CEO: “This project will demonstrate to the industry our capabilities in remodelling the design of a complete legacy system. We have all the necessary skills and people to execute this project successfully. Some people have already given in-house training in this area to other staff members. In my personal opinion, we should not let this project slip by us under any circumstances."

CEO to Client: “This is the type of project in which our company specializes. We have executed many projects of the same nature for many large clients. Trust me when I say that we are the most competent firm in the industry for doing this kind of work. It is my personal opinion that we can execute this project successfully and well within the given time frame."

It’s a time for straight thinking and straight talking. The spin of the wheel and the spin of the word will not get us out of this mess. Do not podcast The Emergency from http://newstalk.ie/newstalk/podcasts/39/emer gency.xml there is a danger it might make you laugh. I am thrilled that cutting satire is alive and well and back on our airwaves. So out with the March Hare and in with the hair shirt. Brace yerself Nora.