Monday, March 28, 2011

Wisdom of Scott Adams

Before checking the Other McCain, I didn't know Scott Adams was being flogged for his blog.
I've enjoyed Dilbert for years, and checked out Adams' blog from time to time.
Joining the controversy, I see several pieces of brilliant wisdom in Adams' writing and explanation of the fuss.
The short answer is that I write material for a specific sort of audience. And when the piece on Men's Rights drew too much attention from outside my normal reading circle, it changed the meaning. Communication becomes distorted when you take it out of context, even if you don't change a word of the text.
Simply put, people who normally read Adams know his style. If you read anybody for a length of time, you know their style - quirks, interests and what they focus on. People who didn't know Adams got mad at him for their own reasons.
And this summary explains the anger in Wisconsin, and why it's going to be so hard to get the budget and entitlements under control.
You can't expect to have a rational discussion on any topic that has an emotional charge. Emotion pushes out reason. That is true for all humans, including children, men, women, and people in every range of mental ability. The path of least resistance is to walk away from that sort of fight. Men generally prefer the path of least resistance. The exception is when men irrationally debate with other men. That's a type of sport. No one expects opinions to be changed as a result.
Our budget has trod the "path of least resistance" for years. Resistance is looming.
People are going to be angry and hurt. They will be unhappy with the people making decisions and their motives.
Step back and enjoy your Dilbert. Learn his lessons and don't get mad.

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