© John A. Tyler

How do we recognize anything as different from any other?

Because it looks or acts different from it’s neighbor. If we look as a house that’s painted completely white, we have a hard time picking out any unique image on a wall other than a window, or a shutter. However a decorated window box filled with flowers creates a different pattern.

At any level of being or perception, creatures exist by first recognizing patterns and responding accordingly. This is true at the level of bacteria, viruses, honey bees, human immune responses, and so on.

What is a pattern?

Patterns can be a series of images or activities that repeat themselves in a regular way. If we understand a pattern, we can forecast what it will look like in areas that we can’t see or sense because we know that the pattern portion that we have seen will repeat itself.

What about familiar patterns?

Do you breathe? Sleep? These are patterns that we don’t even think about unless we are having trouble doing either. But it’s helpful to have the observations of another regarding our familiar patterns. They may notice something about one of our patterns that could be changed to make our activity easier. We may not appreciate their advice because familiar patterns are often comfortable, but we may be better off by changing a pattern, such as giving up smoking or not continuing as a couch potato.

What is a useful expert?

An expert is someone who observes, and recognizes patterns, both useful and harmful, and can give you good advice about your patterns. These patterns can be about your business management skills, your investment practices, or anything else you do that matters. In short, to be useful, an expert must be a pattern recognizer.

Common Denominator: Pattern recognition is the basis of knowledge.

Please understand that I don’t think of knowledge as being the same as wisdom, which depends on other factors such as experience and intuition. Nor do I think that good decisions are totally based on pattern recognition. But without pattern recognition, the grounding for most decisions is unstable, and accidental. You might as well just spin the wheel of fortune and regard any result as an element of chance.

Where does TYLER LYNCH, PC come into this picture?

In our roles as accountants, consultants, tax advisors, and general financial advisors, we employ some common skills. These include pattern recognition relating to client facts and activities, knowledge of the rules, familiarity with other patterns for other clients in similar circumstances, and the ability to create and implement new patterns which will help our clients achieve their objectives.