Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Sophistication and Ineffectiveness



Sometimes, you need to kick in a door.

You could, of course, refrain from such a primitive and violent action. You could study the design of doors and the nature of the locks and what might be revealed by a thorough understanding of the psychology of the door's designers. You can bemoan the unavailability of locksmiths who can unravel the mystery of its locks.

You could turn the opening of the door into a college thesis with plenty of footnotes and original research.

Or you can kick in the door.

Those of us who have been schooled in the virtues of the indirect may scoff at the barbarians who do the kicking and yet there is an energy and a level of boldness in their approach. Often, there is also a high degree of effectiveness. They produce a tangible result.

I read the newspapers and see much evidence of a proliferation of door researchers. They avoid A which will directly produce B. That is far too direct. Instead, they advocate D which will then produce Z which will bounce off of Y and influence M so it affects Q which will, in due time, produce B.

We hope.

They may not be effective, but they get high scores for sophistication.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

As usual, there you go showing your brilliance again. E.

Michael Wade said...

E,

Bless you. I'll try to make it a habit.

Michael