Different Worldviews

[kevin_standlee]

I find myself wondering what Jonathan McAlmont and Danny O'Dare do to put bread on the table, and musing over whether whatever that is compared to my Day Jobbe is one of the reasons we are talking past each other to the point where I have taken Mary Kay Kare's advice about saying anything else over there. (In short, I am "Just [letting] people be wrong on the Internet…", as he asks.)

My Day Jobbe, which I should be doing right now and will be again in a few minutes, is a computer database programmer. I primarily write and maintain Microsoft Access-based small database application for quick deployment. (Warning: People who snark that Access isn't a "real database" will be considered discussion derailers and treated accordingly. I'm allowed to do that on my home turf, evil person that I am.) Being a programmer gives me a certain view of how I approach the world, process-wise. The character traits that led me into computer solutions engineering possibly are what drew me to an interest in parliamentary law, which is also a large rule-set that a knowledgeable person can "program" to accomplish certain tasks. I find satisfaction when the rules have been followed and everyone has had their say within those rules, even if I don't necessarily get my way. (Besides, if I lose, I often have a way to come back another day when the conditions have changed.) That doesn't necessarily mean I like the result, but if the decision was legal, I have no grounds for attacking on that basis.

(Example: the Mark Protection Committee's decisions in Australia in 2011 2010 were legal within the rules framework, even though their substance infuriated me. I therefore worked within that same framework to overturn the decision legally. I never claimed the decision was illegitimate, only ill-advised, and I'd have a very difficult time having a meaningful discussion with someone who doesn't see the difference.)

Not everyone thinks rules are worthwhile. That doesn't make them inherently evil (c.f. the Dungeons & Dragons "chaotic good" alignment; I'm probably lawful good on that scale, recognizing that paladins and their ilk can be a right pain to be around), but it often makes it nearly impossible for me to have a useful debate with them, on account of we differ so badly on basic assumptions. It's as though I brought a golf club and they have a tennis racquet, and we're standing in the middle of cricket pitch trying to play the game. (Of course, being adverse to rules, they probably aren't interested in any competitive sports anyway, but that's another story.)

Comments

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Thanks for noticing. :)

The funny thing is that I certainly don't remember being like that when I showed up in 1984. Yes, I had the "I want to change everything!" attitude, but I went about it by learning how the system works and doing my best to take it over. To some extent, I succeeded, to the extent anyone in this community does. I surely didn't think someone else was going to do it for me!

[daveon.livejournal.com]

I'll lay good odds that the old farts of the time saw you that way :)

But then we grow up.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Likely. Bruce Pelz coined what he called Standing Rule 2: "Shut up, Kevin." (Rule 1 was, "Shut up, Robert [Sacks, notorious WSFS gadfly of the time with vastly longer history than me].")

[lindadee.livejournal.com]

Ah, but I enjoyed the business meetings when Robert was around. It was theatre of the absurd, and I have a weird sense of humor. Today's business meetings are much more serious (though not totally).