Sound for Collision

I had one of my most frustrating conversations at work to date this afternoon. When we write technical papers, there is often a review process to ensure that only the highest quality work makes it out the door. This is not a bad idea. Today, that process reached "impediment to progress" status due to a particular individual. I had already been steamed about this fellow's interference in the good work that I'm trying to accomplish. My main feeling was that the paper does not in any way address his area of expertise. In fact, he really shouldn't even be part of the review. This is why none of the comments he's making are technical in nature (i.e. significant). He's making format and grammar comments that are not constrained by company policy. Anyway, I had my little internal moment of anger last week, realized nothing Christian was going to come from any petty frustration. Not to mention that my supervisor went ballistic and handled all the pettiness on my behalf

That aside, I realized after this afternoon's relatively civil follow-up that there was more here than this fellow being an encumbrance. Don't get me wrong, he is a little, little man who is insulting and petty. The biggest part of the problem, though, is that he is small minded. I don't mean of low IQ. I mean that his focus is extremely narrow, and that he cannot divert from that focus. In this case, that small mindedness does become a serious hindrance, because if you only focus on one obstacle and a single way to overcome it, you will be blind to alternatives. Hence the fact that he is completely bewildered by a (well written, if I do say so myself) document because of some (perfectly correct) variations in grammar. By opposition, I wrote the paper from a big minded perspective. Again, that isn't an IQ reference, it's that I feel I often think more in terms of concepts and relationships than reciting rules or sections of documents verbatim. If I make graphics, they are designed for maximum information density, not some parochial format reflecting personal preference. You can call it a car, an automobile, a vehicle, or anything else and I understand it means the same thing. This has its pitfalls, as I occasionally make leaps of logic that are indecipherable to anybody else. It's also exemplified in the scattershot nature of the posts on I Tell You What. In contrast, this guy would write a blog exclusively devoted to '86 Mustangs or fly fishing east of the Continental Divide. Unless you're trying to publish a scientific journal, a court brief, or a GAO report auditing Housing and Urban Development, I'll take big minded writing every time. It gets the idea across to all audiences quickly and efficiently, and will once in a while inspire people.

At least I know where Sweetness stands. I was carrying her home on the final leg of a long walk yesterday, and she blurted out "when I am big, I will do BIG things". Atta' girl.