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Subject:Re: No Bucks, No Buck Rogers From:Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:Jessica Lourey <JessicaL -at- alx -dot- tec -dot- mn -dot- us>, techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com Date:Mon, 27 Mar 2000 18:43:45 -0800 (PST)
Jessica Lourey wrote:
> I advise my students to argue only topics they are willing to change their
> mind about because arguing with the single minded is an oxymoron. However, I
> am compelled to reply to Andrew Plato.....
I am more of a polymoron. Multiple layers of stupidity.
> Does
> the certificate have to be mutually exclusive of personal and independent
> learning?
No, but it is not a guarantee in any way that the person can write. As with all
things in the world - people get different things out of their education. My
complaint is not with the people in these programs it is the perceived value of
them.
> Obviously you feel strongly about the issue of education and technical
> writing. I look forward to seeing your definition of leadership in action as
> you work to make technical writing ed better.
Leadership is (was) Stanley Kubrick, Martin Luther King, Susan B. Anthony,
Steve Jobs, Harry Truman, and that guy who stood in front of the tank in
Tieneman Square in China. These are leaders. People who did not just
double-click their way through a job because it was comfortable or some
mouthing idiot told them it was the way to live. True leaders are visionaries
that inspire through words AND actions - not process, approval, and
certification. I don't think Martin Luther King had a certificate in "Altering
the Fabric of a Racist Society." (Maybe he did, I might have been drunk that
day in that class.)
Now - that's a little lofty for tech writing but the concept remains the same.
True leaders and true writers have the capability to mold chaos into beauty.
They can turn a drab, dull product/technology/science into something
interesting and educational.
I am no brain-bending genius but I am profoundly certain that two FrameMaker
courses and a lecture on whitespace are not going to help somebody mold chaos
into beauty.
Andrew Plato
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