4 ms·

The Art of Showing Pure Incompetence at an Unwanted Task (2007)

16 points by _xivi 3y ago

gwern 3y ago
> For any employee, the soul-stealing complexity of office machinery such as fax machines, copiers, PCs, voicemail and even coffee makers gives everyone ample cover to studiously never learn how to use them. But the same blank stare accompanies nonmechanical tasks, too. Claire Wexler, an accountant who used to work at a law firm, says lawyers "pretend to be completely flummoxed" by all of those machines as well as "everything related to accounting except for billing." Their message: "I have so many lofty matters on my mind I can't be bothered with mastering this small task," she says. Which is a good thing. The point of having lawyers or accountants is to not waste their time on small tasks. If you want your lawyers spending their time fixing coffee machines, that suggests you shouldn't have lawyers in the first place. One of the worst parts of computers has been loading up everyone with outsourced bureaucracy and paperwork, externalizing the subtle costs. And maybe this is why computerization has done so little for total productivity? https://gwern.net/doc/psychology/writing/1992-sassone.pdf https://gwern.net/doc/psychology/writing/1992-sassone.pdf (excerpts: https://gwern.net/doc/psychology/writing/index#sassone-1992-section https://gwern.net/doc/psychology/writing/index#sassone-1992-... )
- iisan7 3y ago
  I agree that lawyers shouldn't fix coffee machines, their time is certainly more valuable. But they should know how, in a pinch. Flexible, adaptable analog thinking is an important human trait. I'm reminded of a related quote by Heinlein: "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." I don't agree with all of Heinlein's views, but on this point, "lowering oneself" like a lawyer fixing a coffee machine provides a certain humility or awareness of one's shared humanity that is helpful for social cohesion.
  - gwern 3y ago
    No, they shouldn't know how. Most of what there is to know about fixing a coffee machine is useless tedious bullshit. No one's life is enriched by knowing which error messages mean what, and which are misleading, or where the part replacement catalogue is stored.
surprisetalk 3y ago
Here are some similar tips: > Grunt work is foisted upon generalists. Establish yourself as an inflexible expert. Choose a narrow domain and claim ignorance whenever possible. Peers will eventually avoid asking you for help. > Create an ambient paper trail of activity. Occasionally produce reports on numbers that nobody cares about. Send your reports to a limited number of people so you can mention that you’re “working on something for Alice and Bob” if needed. > Assign yourself easy work. Manufacture problems and improvements that you know how to solve. Make tools to solve recurring problems without incurring too much automation debt. Under no circumstances should you ever share your automations. [1] https://taylor.town/corporate-camouflage https://taylor.town/corporate-camouflage

16 points by _xivi 3y ago

> For any employee, the soul-stealing complexity of office machinery such as fax machines, copiers, PCs, voicemail and even coffee makers gives everyone ample cover to studiously never learn how to use them. But the same blank stare accompanies nonmechanical tasks, too. Claire Wexler, an accountant who used to work at a law firm, says lawyers "pretend to be completely flummoxed" by all of those machines as well as "everything related to accounting except for billing." Their message: "I have so many lofty matters on my mind I can't be bothered with mastering this small task," she says. Which is a good thing. The point of having lawyers or accountants is to not waste their time on small tasks. If you want your lawyers spending their time fixing coffee machines, that suggests you shouldn't have lawyers in the first place. One of the worst parts of computers has been loading up everyone with outsourced bureaucracy and paperwork, externalizing the subtle costs. And maybe this is why computerization has done so little for total productivity? https://gwern.net/doc/psychology/writing/1992-sassone.pdf https://gwern.net/doc/psychology/writing/1992-sassone.pdf (excerpts: https://gwern.net/doc/psychology/writing/index#sassone-1992-section https://gwern.net/doc/psychology/writing/index#sassone-1992-... )

iisan7 3y ago
I agree that lawyers shouldn't fix coffee machines, their time is certainly more valuable. But they should know how, in a pinch. Flexible, adaptable analog thinking is an important human trait. I'm reminded of a related quote by Heinlein: "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." I don't agree with all of Heinlein's views, but on this point, "lowering oneself" like a lawyer fixing a coffee machine provides a certain humility or awareness of one's shared humanity that is helpful for social cohesion.
- gwern 3y ago
  No, they shouldn't know how. Most of what there is to know about fixing a coffee machine is useless tedious bullshit. No one's life is enriched by knowing which error messages mean what, and which are misleading, or where the part replacement catalogue is stored.

surprisetalk 3y ago

Here are some similar tips: > Grunt work is foisted upon generalists. Establish yourself as an inflexible expert. Choose a narrow domain and claim ignorance whenever possible. Peers will eventually avoid asking you for help. > Create an ambient paper trail of activity. Occasionally produce reports on numbers that nobody cares about. Send your reports to a limited number of people so you can mention that you’re “working on something for Alice and Bob” if needed. > Assign yourself easy work. Manufacture problems and improvements that you know how to solve. Make tools to solve recurring problems without incurring too much automation debt. Under no circumstances should you ever share your automations. [1] https://taylor.town/corporate-camouflage https://taylor.town/corporate-camouflage