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I'm not sure this is helpful. > "who thinks he's my manager" -- You don't really know what he thinks. You're taking common turns of phrase and interpreting th

by Veen 8y ago

I'm not sure this is helpful. > "who thinks he's my manager" -- You don't really know what he thinks. You're taking common turns of phrase and interpreting them literally. Saying someone "thinks X" usually just means that they "behave as if they think X". The same goes for the rest of your corrections.

Ensorceled 8y ago
While this is true, most solutions to problems are based on changing peoples behavior, not their thinking. Focusing on their thinking, even as a language short cut, isn't productive.
wjnc 8y ago
If you're a junior one of the first things to learn in office is to talk, professionally and a whole lot more than you were used to in previous lives. You are pretty much free to vent each and every of these thoughts to the person concerning as long as it's with respect and an attitude of learning. If you don't understand the social dynamics going on - ask. If you think you can do something better than your boss or peers, offer it as a positive suggestion ("I think I'm pretty strong in X, shall I give a first try at this problem?"). Most of OPs thoughts are interpretations. They need to get out of that sphere and into the open.
prepend 8y ago
I’ve found that using precise language and trying to understand actions and motivations instead of assuming, usually incorrectly, what people are thinking helps me to identify common ground and be productive. I think you’re right in that people usually intend “thinks X” to mean “behaves as if they think X.” But what I typically try to do is to share behaviors that make it harder to interact and to work on that. It’s pretty rare that I care that someone “thinks they know everything,” but more common that “they did not spend time listening to my idea and made a judgement without all the info I could share.” The latter helps me try to create situations where I can share info to inform their decision. Yadda yadda yadda.
balabaster 8y ago
You'd be astonished how many junior developers come into industry knowing nothing more than their technical brilliance (and they may be truly technically brilliant) and thinking they know everything. The fact is when you're starting out, as brilliant as you may be, you have little more than your technical brilliance. 5 years from now, this same junior developer will realize he doesn't know everything and will have a greater respect for everyone he works with... except his juniors who he will probably perceive as thinking they know everything. Everything is new, but everything is old. And around and around it goes. The funny thing about history is that as much as we move forward, so much of our reality is just a repeating pattern of the past. Nobody knows anything and we're all just making it up as we go along. For my wealth of knowledge and experience, which is considerable, there is still so much I don't know. There's still so much you don't know and there's still so much this junior developer doesn't know. But we all have something to teach and something to learn. History has shown though that the more junior you are, the less likely you are to be aware of how much you don't know and the bravado of youth is still very much in play. There's a reason the phrase "I wish I was still young enough to know everything" was coined. Of course, it doesn't help to tarnish everyone with the same brush. There are those who bring genuine insight, but they are so few that it's a shock when they do. It's not unheard of, but I'd be surprised if this junior programmer has any clue what goes on in the heads of his colleagues and is projecting their thoughts based on a complete lack of awareness of a much larger context in their heads than in his own. Communication is the key to resolving this issue. Nothing more.
- bigred100 8y ago
  I’m sure the sentiment up top is true, but the other side of this is that in technical jobs I’ve had, I’ve driven certain people up the wall by (they would say) not taking them seriously enough. However, these were all fairly arrogant, manipulative people. Humble, trustworthy senior coworkers were always given immediate respect and deference by me. I wonder whether some people don’t have a natural defense mechanism by writing off even good advice and expertise from people they can tell are manipulative and untrustworthy.
  - balabaster 8y ago

by Veen 8y ago

Ensorceled 8y ago

While this is true, most solutions to problems are based on changing peoples behavior, not their thinking. Focusing on their thinking, even as a language short cut, isn't productive.

wjnc 8y ago

If you're a junior one of the first things to learn in office is to talk, professionally and a whole lot more than you were used to in previous lives. You are pretty much free to vent each and every of these thoughts to the person concerning as long as it's with respect and an attitude of learning. If you don't understand the social dynamics going on - ask. If you think you can do something better than your boss or peers, offer it as a positive suggestion ("I think I'm pretty strong in X, shall I give a first try at this problem?"). Most of OPs thoughts are interpretations. They need to get out of that sphere and into the open.

prepend 8y ago

I’ve found that using precise language and trying to understand actions and motivations instead of assuming, usually incorrectly, what people are thinking helps me to identify common ground and be productive. I think you’re right in that people usually intend “thinks X” to mean “behaves as if they think X.” But what I typically try to do is to share behaviors that make it harder to interact and to work on that. It’s pretty rare that I care that someone “thinks they know everything,” but more common that “they did not spend time listening to my idea and made a judgement without all the info I could share.” The latter helps me try to create situations where I can share info to inform their decision. Yadda yadda yadda.

balabaster 8y ago

You'd be astonished how many junior developers come into industry knowing nothing more than their technical brilliance (and they may be truly technically brilliant) and thinking they know everything. The fact is when you're starting out, as brilliant as you may be, you have little more than your technical brilliance. 5 years from now, this same junior developer will realize he doesn't know everything and will have a greater respect for everyone he works with... except his juniors who he will probably perceive as thinking they know everything. Everything is new, but everything is old. And around and around it goes. The funny thing about history is that as much as we move forward, so much of our reality is just a repeating pattern of the past. Nobody knows anything and we're all just making it up as we go along. For my wealth of knowledge and experience, which is considerable, there is still so much I don't know. There's still so much you don't know and there's still so much this junior developer doesn't know. But we all have something to teach and something to learn. History has shown though that the more junior you are, the less likely you are to be aware of how much you don't know and the bravado of youth is still very much in play. There's a reason the phrase "I wish I was still young enough to know everything" was coined. Of course, it doesn't help to tarnish everyone with the same brush. There are those who bring genuine insight, but they are so few that it's a shock when they do. It's not unheard of, but I'd be surprised if this junior programmer has any clue what goes on in the heads of his colleagues and is projecting their thoughts based on a complete lack of awareness of a much larger context in their heads than in his own. Communication is the key to resolving this issue. Nothing more.

bigred100 8y ago
I’m sure the sentiment up top is true, but the other side of this is that in technical jobs I’ve had, I’ve driven certain people up the wall by (they would say) not taking them seriously enough. However, these were all fairly arrogant, manipulative people. Humble, trustworthy senior coworkers were always given immediate respect and deference by me. I wonder whether some people don’t have a natural defense mechanism by writing off even good advice and expertise from people they can tell are manipulative and untrustworthy.
- balabaster 8y ago