US Military Dead during Iraq War 1040

(Colonel Forbin) writes:

At the time I left one PPOE, I coined the term "invalidation of knowledge". This outfit was obsessed with replacing the old, perfectly-functional systems with shiny new databases, networking, and every brand-new shiny piece of complexity they could get their hands on. During a brief attempt to span the conceptual gap, I realized that they had made my existing knowledge obsolete. (Or so they thought.) I had the choice of stepping on the merry-go-round of endless retraining, or getting out. I chose the latter, which probably made everybody much happier. I'm sure they went through many arduous and expensive experiences before they got everything sorted out again, but I'll never know - never have I cut off contact with a PPOE so rapidly and permanently.

Invalidation of knowledge has many advantages, at least for some people. If you're a PHB, it means that your staff can't use their experience to come up with embarrbutting descriptions of why your brand-new scheme won't work. And if you're in the "certification" industry, you have a guaranteed ongoing market if you manage to convince people that the information they learned in last year's expensive courses is now obsolete.

Yup. A PHB's dream.

Well, the auto industry is doing just fine without it (the S part, at least). We were recently quoted $300 to repair the failing dashboard clock in our vehicle. I'm sure that most of that just covers the labour required to get at the damned thing.

As long as the illusion holds, it'll be great...

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