Hanlon’s Razor
446 words.
Technically I’m starting this post on the night of the 5th, while a thunderstorm passes overhead and rain pours down again. This time, there’s a lot of lightning as well, so I’ve turned off most everything in the house. I haven’t had a working uninterruptible power supply in quite some years, and the only drawback I’ve experienced is that I don’t like leaving my most expensive electrical equipment plugged in while lightning strikes within a few miles.
But the laptop is chugging away on battery power, so I can type into a WordPress editor as long as the router remains powered. (For some reason, I don’t consider the router to be vulnerable to lightning strikes.)
The unexpected free time gives me a moment to write about one of the few prompts that prompted a meaningful reaction: What is a favorite Quote/s, and tell us why. Wilhelm started us out with one of his favorites. (Though I have to deduct points for his use of the word “bespoke,” which is one of those trendy words that must never be used, lest ye be judged.)
I wouldn’t describe it as a “favorite” quote, but one sprung to mind immediately. I once worked on a fairly dysfunctional (ie. standard) government project, complete with politics and power struggles and secret cliques and passive aggressive bickering, both within the team and between the team and its patrons. A new, somewhat mild-mannered project manager arrived at this maelstrom one day, listened to everyone, and immediately diagnosed the factional issues that were obvious to anyone with observational skills. In trying to calm things down, he periodically said:
"Do not ascribe to malice what can be explained by ignorance."
Or something along those lines, I can’t remember his exact wording. I had heard the phrase before but this project manager quoted it often enough that it’s one of the only quotes I’ve committed to memory. It’s known as “Hanlon’s Razor,” and I believe it was most famously used by science-fiction author Robert Heinlein, though he did not create it.
It’s a quote everyone should know because I feel like ignorance (or perhaps misunderstanding) explains most human behavior. Quite a lot of people on the Internet might benefit from keeping it in mind, particularly “in these troubling times.”
Incidentally, the dysfunction at that particular work environment was not solved by the quote. The solution only arrived when key people left the project or retired, and then the project was eventually shut down, and some people lost their jobs, while others were moved elsewhere, and the government was left with a sub-standard product for its needs. I’m sure there’s no lesson to be learned from that.
Archived Comments
Wilhelm Arcturus 2020-08-06T13:51:00Z
But now I know you’ve read the post! Op success!
We have a VP who is in love with the word “bespoke” but always pronounces it oddly. It is always “bee-spoke,” with the “bee” drawn way out, like they are referencing which Andy Griffith character gave a speech. Oh, and whenever they use the word it never really references anything that is truly custom made and fit for a specific customer. Something we’ve sold to a dozen customers by slapping their logo on it does not count.
There was a whole episode of… I think it was This American Life… about a tailor who does the full custom made from scratch suits that brought the word to my attention about 20 years back. Now it seems to mean anything slightly customizable.
bhagpuss 2020-08-06T16:01:36Z
It’s very odd to read a discussion of the word “bespoke”, which Wilhelm used exactly appropriately in his post, as if it were some kind of neologism or jargon. It’s a perfectly normal, serviceable, everyday word where I come from. It’s primarily used in tailoring, true, but it applies to anything that’s made by request. I’ve heard older relatives talk about a “bespoke” cup of tea, meaning one made just as they like it. Managers may use it but management-speak it very much is not!
As for the quote, it’s a very useful one to remember, although I’d be very loathe to quote anything Robert Heinlein said…
UltrViolet 2020-08-06T16:37:05Z I’m sure I had never heard the word “bespoke” before a few years ago, when it seemed to be combined with any other random words to create products that only hipsters in the U.S. would think to buy. Things like (these are completely made up but representative of my level of perplexity) “bespoke chicken eggs” or “bespoke record players” or “bespoke turtle shell cabinets.” I quickly developed an association between the word and people with too much money and no practical sense.
Promptapalooza and a Quote of the Day | The Ancient Gaming Noob 2020-08-06T21:07:08Z […] Endgame Viable […]
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