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When you’re young, naïve, and still trying to figure out the world, it’s easy to take the words of someone older—especially a sibling—as absolute truth. Back when I was still in high school, that was exactly the kind of person I was. I didn’t really know many people, I didn’t have much real-world experience, and so I trusted almost anything my older brother said. He’s nine years older than me, and in my teenage mind, that meant he had all the answers. I saw him as someone who had already lived through everything I was just starting to experience. But as I eventually learned, being older doesn’t automatically make someone wiser—or accurate.
One of the biggest examples of this involved building a computer. It’s funny to think about it now, because today custom PC building is almost a rite of passage for tech-savvy people. But back then, early in high school, I didn’t know anything about parts, pricing, or performance. My brother told me that building a custom gaming computer was more expensive than buying a prebuilt one, and he insisted that Dell made the best computers on the market. According to him, anyone who didn’t buy a Dell was wasting their money. No debate, no nuance—just his personal belief stated as fact.
And because I trusted him completely, I believed it too.
For years I operated under this assumption. Anytime the topic of gaming computers came up, I repeated my brother’s words like they were gospel. I didn’t even question the logic behind them. If he said building a computer was too expensive, then it must be true. If he said Dell was the best, then Dell had to be the best. I didn’t bother checking prices, comparing components, or reading reviews. In my mind, the research had already been done by someone I trusted—and that was good enough.
But everything changed when I got to college.
In college, I met a friend who actually knew a lot about computers. One day we were talking about gaming, and naturally the conversation shifted toward PC building. I casually repeated what I had always believed: “Building a custom gaming computer is more expensive than buying a prebuilt one.” To me, this wasn’t even an opinion—it was simply a fact I had accepted for years. But he looked at me like I had just said the most ridiculous thing in the world.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
I doubled down, repeating what my brother had told me. He interrupted me midway through and said something that stuck with me: “You’ve never built one before, so how would you even know?”
That hit me harder than I expected. He was right. I had formed a strong opinion based entirely on someone else’s words. Worse, I was defending that opinion without any firsthand experience. My entire position was built on blind trust and zero research.
To prove his point, he sent me a list of computer parts that totaled around $600. It included everything I needed: CPU, motherboard, RAM, GPU, storage, power supply, and case. At first I was skeptical. I thought, There’s no way this adds up to a decent gaming computer. But as I looked up each part, I realized everything he picked had solid reviews. Even more surprising, once assembled, the system could run almost every modern game in 1080p at high settings without breaking a sweat.
It completely shattered everything I believed.
Still, I wasn’t fully convinced until I actually built the computer myself. I ordered everything he recommended and waited for the parts to arrive. When they finally showed up, I spent the entire afternoon carefully assembling the machine. I had never built a PC before, so I watched tutorials and followed each step closely. And to my surprise, it wasn’t nearly as difficult as my brother always made it sound.
A few hours later, I pressed the power button and watched the system boot up for the very first time. The fans spun, the screen lit up, and everything worked flawlessly. I was honestly shocked—not just at the fact that I had built it successfully, but that the performance was far better than any prebuilt system in the same price range. I compared the specs to what Dell and other companies were offering at the time, and the difference was massive. Prebuilt systems with similar performance cost significantly more, sometimes double.
My friend was right. My brother wasn’t.
That moment was a turning point. It wasn’t just about the computer. It was about realizing that I had been accepting information uncritically for years. I let someone else’s opinions shape my beliefs without doing any investigation of my own. And because of that, I almost missed out on the opportunity to save money, learn something new, and get a better product.
From that point on, I stopped blindly believing everything my brother said. It’s not that he intentionally lied to me—he probably thought he was right. But that’s exactly the problem. People can be confident and still be wrong. They can share outdated information, misunderstand a topic, or simply project their own preferences onto others. If you accept their words unquestioningly, you end up inheriting not knowledge, but potentially their misconceptions.
The larger lesson here is simple: everyone should do their own research.
We live in a world full of information—almost too much information. Everyone has an opinion, and many people state those opinions as if they’re facts. Sometimes they genuinely believe what they’re saying. Sometimes they want to sound knowledgeable. And sometimes they just repeat what they heard from someone else. But unless you verify things yourself, you can’t be sure what’s true and what’s not.
Doing your own research doesn’t mean you have to be skeptical of every word that comes out of someone’s mouth. It means you should be willing to check facts, compare sources, ask questions, and think critically. This doesn’t just apply to technology—it applies to everything: finances, health, careers, relationships, education, and everyday decisions. If you make choices based solely on what someone else says, you risk missing out on better opportunities or making avoidable mistakes.
In my case, not doing research would have cost me money and prevented me from learning a skill I now value. But in other situations, failing to verify information could result in much bigger consequences—losing a job opportunity, investing in the wrong thing, following bad advice, or making decisions that affect your long-term goals.
Another important takeaway is that expertise isn’t determined by age or confidence. Just because someone is older doesn’t mean they automatically have better information. And just because someone speaks with certainty doesn’t mean they’re correct. My brother’s confidence made me believe he was speaking facts when in reality he was simply sharing a personal opinion based on outdated experiences.
Looking back, I don’t blame him. But I do blame myself for not questioning things sooner. That’s why now, before I make any big decision, I make it a habit to look up information from multiple sources. I compare reviews, watch videos, read forums, and check the experiences of people who have actually done what I’m trying to do. The difference in outcomes has been huge. I save more money, make smarter decisions, and feel more confident in the choices I make because I know they’re based on real evidence—not assumptions.
What started as a simple lesson about building a gaming computer grew into a fundamental principle I now live by: don’t take anything at face value—verify it yourself.
You never know when a piece of misinformation, no matter how small, could cause you to miss out on a great opportunity. Whether it’s a financial decision, a tech purchase, a career move, or even something as simple as trying a new hobby, doing your homework can make all the difference.
At the end of the day, people can share their advice and opinions, and that’s fine. But you are the one who has to live with the results of your decisions. Make sure those decisions are based on truth and understanding, not someone else’s assumptions.
And sometimes, like in my case, doing your own research might just save you a few hundred dollars—and teach you a lesson you’ll carry for the rest of your life.
