Great question. I am interested in improving the sophistication of my own social discovery engine and aim to make more notes here as I get more proficient.

When I first met this one friend ('L.G') people told me he was unreliable. I didn't see evidence for that and disregarded the vindication of most everyone who had known him, including some of my trusted confidants. Now I have been burned by my naivity and have learned to trust the intuitions of my trusted peers and not to risk my own for those who go out of their way to impress me.