Maxims, rules of thumb and other observations on human cognition and sociocultural affectations

This will be added to on an irregular basis...
  • What is said to humans directly is received with skepticism and considered with dubiousness while that which is heard in passing, especially that which most conforms to their mentality or prejudices, is readily believed.
  • Humans have a certain cognitive latency between exposure to new information or experiences and the ability to think dispassionately and intellectually about it.
  • Humans have a certain cognitive spectrum starting with the moment of exposure to new information or experiences and ending with some point at which the thing is effectively "in the past" for them.
  • This cognitive spectrum is linked to the emotional process often referred to as shock, anger, denial and acceptance.
  • The more and faster information or experiences are presented to people and the closer the quarters and the lesser the distance between people, the more their early reactions in the passionate emotional stage are reflected back to them in the manner of responses to those reactions from others in light of those responses.
  • The more outrages which are suffered without sufficient time to allow emotional bleed-off, the farther the bar for subsequent reaction and outrage are pushed, and the more further events must progress before reaction and outrage.
  • It is possible for serious detriments to eventually sit below this threshold for long enough for their damaging effects to build and multiply until their entire society undergoes some reactive convulsion.
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Friday, January 04, 2008

Let's see if this familiar to you

FANTASTIC START: You agree during an interview for a job to XYZ in terms of workload, delivery times, levels of quality, and so on.

HORRID END: All of that changes almost immediately to your detriment and their advantage.

 

GREAT IDEA: You get a pay rate and a job where you don't have to struggle as much as say, construction, and decent lunch and break opportunities.

MORONIC EXECUTION: Your pay doesn't increase one penny during the aforementioned unilateral increase of your work requirements, and the cost of living increases by between 50% and 100% concurrently. Your lunch opportunities become nil and you are made to feel guilty if you take a break.

 

EXCELLENT WAY IT SHOULD BE: Recognizing the "human component", the company leadership strives to maintain an excellent work atmosphere, above industry average compensation, high quality insurance and related benefits, and attention to motivation and morale.

ACTUAL WAY OF THE ANYTHING NOT FORBIDDEN IS COMPULSORY WORLD: Oblivious to the entire idea that humans aren't robots without self-awareness, the company leadership strives to maintain a soul-crushing work atmosphere, below industry compensation to pinch every penny, the lowest quality insurance the labor laws will let them get away with, and total ignorance of the word morale while defining motivation as fear of being fired.

 

Yes, this is my world. Welcome to it. I work through 95% of all breaks, 25% of all lunches, and continue work that begins before the end of my shift until it is complete, no matter how late that is. My reward? To be threatened with disciplinary action for averaging 1.5 minutes late to work every day.

In a fair world, none of this would happen. In a fair but idiotic world if it happened, I could trade in all the HOURS they owe me for those MINUTES and they'd still owe me HOURS of time and or money.

The days of leather couches, pool tables, video games, rollerblades, and so forth are over. We the high spirited non-conformist geeks revitalized an industry that was in total collapse, we gave a vibrant Internet to the world, and the money people who profited in the billions of dollars off of our toilings as usual killed the golden goose by re-entrenching the noncompetitive, anti-prosperity, pro-assimilation, greedy mindset of the corporate world.

So when I am now tasked with doing the work of the technicians of an entirely separate department with no compensation or benefit, or even temporary title and prestige that goes with it, why is management so dim as to not understand why one would have a problem with that?

The difference between your dream job and ugly reality is sometimes as little as waking up... into a nightmare. Made more ugly and horrid precisely because you can see the potential of that company and all the people you work with, but no one can seem to let oxygen molecule one reach their brains and make use of that potential.

Who is more loyal to a company? Someone who works 110% and tries over and over and never gives up, or those who do whatever they can minimally get away with but never makes waves? Someone who is there all the time whenever they are needed, or those who try not to be available even to their own subordinates they are ostensibly responsible for the training, equipment, and management of?

Nevertheless, I don't give up. I do it for the money. Which means my heart isn't in it. Therefore neither is the quality that comes with passion. It becomes rote, robotic, done under protest, grudgingly. My hope is being slowly taken away.

So, you didn't think I had any idea of what it is to embrace the spirit of the fanatic and though proven wrong about my dream job, persevere with redoubled effort, if only to keep pay. Now you know different.

It is sadistic evil to do your best to frustrate other people in the tasks you set for them and completely insane.

Welcome to the business world.