Yeah, but ... There are obstacles when, say, interviewing for a job. The reason "It's not
what you know. It's who you know." has always been valid (if not entirely true) is because
you're right. Keeping up is a fiction. But the problem presents itself to anyone new to a field,
including those changing fields. You're faced with a bevy of buzzword spouting people who can,
literally, canalize your life because you aren't aware enough of the meanings of those buzzwords.
These are recruiters, interviewers, etc., including lots of robots (software that automatically
sorts you based on the buzzwords in your resume' or cover letter). Granted, if you happen to get
lucky and find recruiters or interviewers who are "in on it", who know that knowing the
core is the critical element, then you're OK. But it's far more likely that your candidacy will be
nixed by someone who doesn't actually know the meanings of the buzzwords they spout.
So, while keeping up is a fiction in some objective sense, our
self-referential, merit-based society has reified it. If you don't keep up,
you'll face a very difficult time finding a job. We old people wealthy enough
to take our time finding new work can call it like it is: a fiction. But the
desparate and hungry can't afford that. They need to keep up or they'll be
stuck in whatever domain they already know the core of.
On 10/02/2015 09:57 AM, Owen Densmore wrote:
This tweet sparked an interesting conversation on "Keeping Up" with technology:
https://twitter.com/tkadlec/status/647079705133338624
Inline image 1
.. and led to: http://timkadlec.com/2015/09/the-fallacy-of-keeping-up/
Sorta like "Privacy? There isn't any, get used to it!" .. just replace Privacy
with Keeping Up .. can't be done!
--
⇔ glen
============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
