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Experience is a double-edged sword
What I'm offering is the benefit of my experience. But experience is only of value if the lessons it teaches can be applied to
the solution of today's problems.
It was Descartes who said
"Each problem that I solved became a rule which
served afterwards to solve other problems"
But Herb Brody (who he?) would have taken issue with that approach.
Brody is of the opinion that
"Telling the future by looking at the past 'assumes'
conditions remain constant. This is like driving a car by looking in the rearview mirror"
And be wary of anyone who is described as having "forgotten more than some will ever learn"
about a given subject.
On the face of it, this claim looks impressive - but do you really want to work with someone
with such a defective memory?
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| A double-edged sword |
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Experience is a double-edged sword
Working for a length of time in one sector conveys a certain degree of expertise.
Niels Henrik David Bohr defines an expert as:
"A man who has made all the mistakes, which can be made, in a very narrow field"
But then, the oft-cited philosopher "Anonymous" advises us to:
"Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long
enough to make them all yourself"
Interpretation of data
Anyone can rank, sort and average data sets. The skill lies in deriving meaning
from the results.
On a light note
The following illustrates the point:
The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks
than the British or Americans.
The French eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or
Americans.
The Italians drink copious amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks
than the British or Americans.
Conclusion: Eat and drink whatever you like.
It's speaking English that kills you
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On a lighter note
Many people become consultants in an attempt to reassess their work:life balance.
My personal view is that work is only a word. It should not be extended to the point where it becomes a sentence.
In this spirit, the screengrab below may elicit a wry smile.
On an even lighter note
If, like me, you can't hear the word "philosophy" without thinking of the
Monty Python sketch -
you know, the one where:
"Bruce here teaches
classical philosophy, Bruce there teaches Hegelian philosophy, and Bruce here teaches logical positivism - and is also in
charge of the sheep dip"
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