A reader reacts to this post:
My experience in “corporate cultures” has found me asking questions which, while quite pointedly valid, embarrassed the presenter / boss. “What,” I said, “do you mean when you say, ‘scientific method.’ ” They (boss/presenter types) had a special, business-oriented thing they meant…each one had a different meaning for their industry. I had studied some science in college, and found that they were abusing the discipline for their own ends. (Cue: Inigo Montoye – “I do not think it means what you think it means.”)
Once, while in a “presentation” teaching us all about how to cause a new way of thinking, thusly to inspire greater productivity on behalf of our employers, we were instructed in the art of “paradigm shift.” Some dude from recent (1980s) business world was credited with the idea that year in his brand-new book. Danged college education stuck in my head again. My hand shot up. “The Paradigm Shift was presented by Thomas Kuhn, in his book, “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions,” I studied that in college. “
I was put in my place (an upstart, interrupting the indoctrination) with an explanation that the business dude had written a book explaining and evangelizing it to the business world. Realizing, slowly, that my best interests were served by keeping my job, not informing the overlords that they were wrong, I learned to shut up. Well, at least some of the time.
Hm. Business people can’t understand the same words when presented by someone with a science background? Maybe a general education, dare we say, Liberal Education, might be a good idea after all.
With that sort of common underpinning to our culture, perhaps we could use words that everyone would be able to accept and understand with common meanings.
And nowadays I agree, but as an undergrad at Minnesota, I do recall being somewhat impatient at the liberal arts requirements “imposed” on us Institute of Technology types (now College of Engineering & Science) – and I was more or less in the majority. Which seems as good a reason as any to compose requirements for the kids who, while of the age of majority, definitely do not have the experience to know what’s good for them.
Amongst my University regrets: A professor of History (Koch, IIRC) offered to write a letter of recommendation after I took a Comparative History course. While I’m not sure what that means, I suspect it would have been interesting trying to concurrently study both CSci and History. However, I was a horrid student and that might have pushed me over the edge…
