In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem.  One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and asked, “Do you know what I just heard about your friend?”

“Please wait,” Socrates replied. “Before telling me anything, I’d like you to pass a little test.  It’s called the Triple Filter Test.”

“Triple filter?”

“That’s right,” Socrates continued.  “Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you’re about to say.  That’s why I call it the triple filter test.  The first filter is Truth.  Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?”

“No,” the man said, “Actually I just heard about it and…”

“Ah,” said Socrates. “So you don’t really know if it’s true or not.  Now, let’s try the second filter, the filter of Goodness.  Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?”

“No, on the contrary…”

“So,” Socrates continued, “You want to tell me something bad about that person, but you’re not certain it’s true.  You may still pass the test though, because there’s one filter left…the filter of Usefulness.  Tell me then, is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?”

“No, not really.”

“Well,” concluded Socrates, “If what you want to tell me is neither true, nor good, nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?”