TW3

Well that was a weird week, wasn't it? I do prefer a bit of chaos in my life and I love cold weather and snow, but this is maybe a bit over the top. My wife and I were reminiscing about the good old days when the weather forecasters really had no idea what was going to happen- back before radar and satellites. We were noting how accurate all the snowfall predictions had been. But these storms where warm moist air comes up the coast and meets cold air from the north are almost completely unpredictable. Nobody is able to determine how much water a storm is picking up as it passes over the Atlantic, or exactly what the meeting temperature will be. Get it just right and wham! A foot of thundersnow.

On another topic, there's one dynamic that I see everywhere I work. If you get a decent size group together, you can get a segment of the group discussing a problem- both the reasons behind it and potential solutions. This will go on for a bit and then someone who is not in that segment will say, "Well I never have that problem." This kind of sentiment never fails to be irritating. The clear implication is, "I do something that works for me and if you would only do what I do it will work for you too." As a result, nobody ends up listening to them, because there's nothing helpful about what they have to say.

I've heard this kind of stuff all the time throughout my careers, and come to think of it, my life too. And I guess what bothers me most is how close it is to being helpful and yet how far. I know I've occasionally said that I always think I know what's best. But I don't come to that conclusion based on what's worked for me. I know myself; I'm kind of odd, and it would be just as silly to expect people to deal with situations the way I do as it would to expect kids to do calculations in their head if they've never done them before. When I say I know best, I mean that I've listened to what everyone else is saying and have come to a conclusion based on what they say, not what I think.

The ability to listen and think outside of ourselves is a uniquely human characteristic, but it's hard work and so far too few people practice it. Hmm. Think it's time to finish that essay on listening that I never completed.