Yet another Twitter conversation turned blog post-
Misdirection, it is the key to so many things- from running backs faking one way then turning another
- to politician's challenges to opponents.
Remember when you were a kid and started trying to figure out how magic tricks worked? You discovered the first step was to not look where the magician directed your attention, that's when things started to click, and you began to see through the "magic".
When you are confronted with an issue you need to understand, especially if there are cheerleaders involved (by cheerleaders I mean sales weasels, analysts, anyone with a strong point of view driving the topic), step back and look where people are not pointing.
For example (and at the risk of inciting another heated conversation on the topic) apply this to PCI DSS. Where is the payment card industry focused? On the merchants and processors. Where is the industry not focused? Well, they aren't focused on themselves, improving chargeback mechanisms to remove the need for keeping card data, nor anything else which would inconvenience the industry or consumers (two places where changes would make a real difference).
Think about it. Where else are you not looking?
Jack
