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September 18, 2003

History of a Geek IV

Sidney J. Harris"Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable." [Quotes of the Day]

That is a pretty accurate summary of what I was thinking about. If you can drag your minds back to the last episode, I was working for a series of companies under one umbrella corporation. At the end of my time there, I had to make some hard decisions and I still suffer from the regret of the things I didn't dare.

Anyway, I figured it was worth outlining some rules about work that I had managed to deduce by this point in my career. I wrote myself a note at the time and it is interesting that most of these rules are probably still true.... [but I have added some editorial content to update them] ....

1. Anytime you start enjoying your work, there will be a reorganisation with a new boss, new collegues and new work. [Sometime you will get the reorganisation even if you hate your job - it will still be worse after the reorganisation than before].

2. Always start by assuming that the users are idiots who object to condescending instructions. [Also be aware that idiots today are much higher quality than they used to be - as systems get more complex, they get less intelligent].

3. You have to keep running to stay still. [This was in reference to staying current in your chosen area of expertise. If you don't keep the knowledge fresh, it will become too dated to be useful].

4. Management are not there to help. [This was primarily true from a workload perspective - they more work they get you to do, the cheaper you are per hour. Later it turned out to be a lot of other things too like pay rises, skills training].

5. Never volunteer. [You may find youself in the synagogue, fixing computers - as I did].

Being very cynical (even at a young age), I has assumed that there was some constant measure that included the level of complexity in any system and the level of intelligence of the user. Hence, the more complicated the system, the dumber the user. Now in hindsight I think the problem is on the other side. As we geeks master some form of technology, we reach the point of not remembering what ot was like to not understand. We take so much for granted and that shows when we speak to the non-geek stranger or user.

I remember, very vividly, learning to drive. I was probably 14 or 15 when my grandpa started to get me driving inside the yard (very slowly) and after I got my learners permit, I was hot to trot. My dad took me out in a Ford Transit van which was fitted out as a minibus (we were a big family). It was a big awkward vehicle with a high center of gravity. We lived out in the sticks on a "hobby farm" and I started down the road at about 20 km/hr. My dad, who was one of the bets drivers I have ever known, encouraged me to increase speed up to about 45 km/hr. Cool. We were approaching an intersection and dad asked me to turn left. I carefully put the indicator on (as instructed in the "Motor Vehicle Handbook") and turned the corner. Any driver instructors out there? What did I forget? My dad never even considered it because it was an "automatic behaviour" - like riding a bicycle. Once your body learns, you no longer need to be mentally and actively in control of the activity. In this case, turning a 90 degree corner without slowing down first almost tipped the van over.

Well we geeks are like my dad as a driver. We know something so well, we can do it automatically and we forget what we had to learn when we talk to the non-geek....

To be continued (if people still want to here more of this stuff) ....

Posted by Ozguru at September 18, 2003 06:09 AM

Comments

To be continued? I hope so :) Nice article.

Posted by: Prasad at September 18, 2003 06:09 AM

This reminds me of my dad giving me my first driving lessons. Thanks Ozg, I am soon posting about it! :)

Posted by: Melodrama at September 18, 2003 06:09 AM

An even more appropriate quote (from Scott Adams):
If you have any trouble sounding condescending, find a Unix user to show you how it's done.
And all you readers thought I sounding condescending because I am a MAC user, now you know that it's really because I am a UNIX user....

Posted by: ozguru at September 18, 2003 06:09 AM

Have you ever banged someone with your car while learning to drive? I have ;-)

Posted by: Jivha at September 18, 2003 06:09 AM

The rules From GDay Mate: 1. Anytime you start enjoying your work, there will be a reorganisation with a new boss, new collegues and new work. [Sometime you will get the reorganisation even if you hate your job - it will still

Posted by: PD at September 18, 2003 06:09 AM

Blocus? There's a reason why the number of blogs I read daily is increasing exponentially - there is so much amazing stuff being written about in the blogosphere. I feel it would be very unfair on my part if I did...

Posted by: Jivha - the Tongue at September 18, 2003 06:09 AM

Blocus? There's a reason why the number of blogs I read daily is increasing exponentially - there is so much amazing stuff being written about in the blogosphere. I feel it would be very unfair on my part if I did...

Posted by: Jivha - the Tongue at September 18, 2003 06:09 AM