Perhaps I'm using the term "applause sign" incorrectly. My intended meaning there is that it is obvious, it provides no new information to anyone, everyone will not their heads as though it is wisdom, but it is not specific enough to make it easy for people to do. Much like "lose weight" is a bad goal, but "get to 190 lbs, 10% body fat by April 15th" is a better goal, and is even better as "get to 190 lbs, 10% body fat by April 15th by limiting intake to 1000-1500 calories, 90% Paleo/primal foods, heavy lifting 3 days a week, daily yoga and mobility work, and 5 nature hikes a week for at least 30 minutes."

Pardon if the "applause sign" term was misappropriated. "Sounds like wisdom, but is not informative enough to be helpful" is probably closer.