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I think the use of 'I' and 'we' is most interesting in Formula 1 where the drivers always use 'we' in the winner's driver's conference. Hang on a minute, you we

I think the use of 'I' and 'we' is most interesting in Formula 1 where the drivers always use 'we' in the winner's driver's conference. Hang on a minute, you were the one driving, nobody else was in the car, yet you use the word 'we'? What is going on? Well, at times, they also use the word 'I'. This is in the other scenario - losing! 'I clipped the kerb' etc. But you don't get the losers in the driver's conference, hence 'we' is the term used. F1 is very much about individuals wanting to win, team mates are perhaps the most terrifying rivals as they have an identical car - they have to be beaten before the rest of the field can be beaten. Yet it is always 'we' and 'the team', even though there is nobody else in the team doing the driving for them. Sure there are things like good calls for pitstops that comes from the guys in the garage, but it isn't a team sport like cricket/rugby/football is. Personally I think that 'we' is an important word to use in the workplace as it sends out a quite powerful signal that someone is part of a team, even if 'we' can be used nefariously, e.g. to not acknowledge blame for having broken something.

david-given 11y ago
OTOH --- but I won't try to argue myself, as this story from _The Codeless Code_ does it so much better. (Cut-and-pasted here, as it's short.) http://thecodelesscode.com/case/106 http://thecodelesscode.com/case/106 A certain monk was known throughout the Temple for his humility. When discussing flaws in his clan’s software he always took personal responsibility, yet when receiving praise for marvelous features crafted by him alone, he always gave credit to the entire team. Eventually word of the monk came to old Jinyu, Abbess Over All Clans And Concerns. “So,” she said to her chief abbot, “this monk says 'I failed' after the defeats of others, and 'we triumphed' after his own victories?” “So it is said throughout the Temple,” said the abbot. “Bring him to me,” commanded Jinyu. When this was done, Jinyu surprised all in attendance by striking the monk with her cane and sentencing him to thirty days’ hard labor in the data mines. After the stunned monk had been taken away the abbot nervously approached Jinyu to inquire the reason. Jinyu struck the abbot. “Fool! Consider the monk’s algorithm. When he says 'I failed', what is most probably the truth?” “That others have failed,” said the abbot, flinching. Jinyu struck him again. “And when the monk says 'we triumphed', what does he most likely mean?” “That victory was his alone,” said the abbot, wincing in pain. The ancient priestess twirled her cane overhead, so fast that the very air whined in anguish, until with a thunderclap she brought it down hard on the floor in front of the terrified abbot. “The only thing praiseworthy about this boastful monk is that he has mastered the art of one-to-one mapping. Meanwhile, what am I to do with the rest of you idiots? You were deceived by a simple substitution cipher that your brains had already decoded.”
- Theodores 11y ago
  Many thanks for that, I shall now read the code-less-code...

david-given 11y ago

OTOH --- but I won't try to argue myself, as this story from _The Codeless Code_ does it so much better. (Cut-and-pasted here, as it's short.) http://thecodelesscode.com/case/106 http://thecodelesscode.com/case/106 A certain monk was known throughout the Temple for his humility. When discussing flaws in his clan’s software he always took personal responsibility, yet when receiving praise for marvelous features crafted by him alone, he always gave credit to the entire team. Eventually word of the monk came to old Jinyu, Abbess Over All Clans And Concerns. “So,” she said to her chief abbot, “this monk says 'I failed' after the defeats of others, and 'we triumphed' after his own victories?” “So it is said throughout the Temple,” said the abbot. “Bring him to me,” commanded Jinyu. When this was done, Jinyu surprised all in attendance by striking the monk with her cane and sentencing him to thirty days’ hard labor in the data mines. After the stunned monk had been taken away the abbot nervously approached Jinyu to inquire the reason. Jinyu struck the abbot. “Fool! Consider the monk’s algorithm. When he says 'I failed', what is most probably the truth?” “That others have failed,” said the abbot, flinching. Jinyu struck him again. “And when the monk says 'we triumphed', what does he most likely mean?” “That victory was his alone,” said the abbot, wincing in pain. The ancient priestess twirled her cane overhead, so fast that the very air whined in anguish, until with a thunderclap she brought it down hard on the floor in front of the terrified abbot. “The only thing praiseworthy about this boastful monk is that he has mastered the art of one-to-one mapping. Meanwhile, what am I to do with the rest of you idiots? You were deceived by a simple substitution cipher that your brains had already decoded.”

Theodores 11y ago
Many thanks for that, I shall now read the code-less-code...