A man is driving along the road when he realizes he’s lost. He stops to ask a passer by.
“Excuse me, could you help me please? I have a meeting at 2pm, I’m running 30 mins late and I have no idea where I am!”
“Of course!” said the stranger. “You are in a car, on the A43 heading north, approximately 7miles and 400 metres from the city centre, 40º longitude and 58º latitude.”
“You work for the government, am I right?” Asked the driver.
“Yes! How did you guess?”
“Quite simple: everything you just told me is technically correct, but practically useless. I’m still lost, I’m still going to be late, and I have no idea what to do with your information.”
“You are a politician, am I right?” Asks the man on the street.
“Yes! How did you guess?” replies the driver proudly.
“Quite simple. You have no idea where you’re going, you’ve made a promise you can’t keep and you expect someone else to solve your problem.
In fact, you are in exactly the same situation that you were before you stopped to ask me, yet somehow, now it’s my fault!”