"Different strokes for different folks..."
"I like nonsense; it wakes up the brain cells." - Dr. Seuss
I have a friend with whom I've worked at different companies over many years. Although when I first knew him, he scared me a little, I have always admired Dan and respected his prowess as an engineer.
Different Ways of Thinking (source)
Dan and I think differently.
I arrive at this conclusion one day when I walk into his office to ask him a technical question.
Dan leans back in his chair, his eyes momentarily glaze over, and in a few seconds he has just the answer I need.
This sort of cool competence is characteristic of Dan. If I were to peer behind his eyes, I imagine I would see something like the following take place in his mind:
Incoming question... Classifying...
Topic recognized.
Dan gets up and opens the door to his perfectly structured mental library, filled with stack upon stack of highly organized knowledge.
Stack upon highly-organized stack... (source)
He proceeds directly to the appropriate stack, walks the aisle to the correct section, reaches up to the proper shelf, and removes the exact volume containing the answer I need.
My brain doesn't work that way.
Let's turn the tables, and have Dan walk into my office with a question.
Dan asks me his question. I also lean back and, momentarily, my eyes glaze over.
However, what takes place in my head is vastly different:
Incoming question... Classifying...
Topic recognized.
I open and walk through a door into a gymnasium-sized room. Like a psychedelic hailstorm, colored balls of all sizes chaotically bounce in every direction at wildly varying speeds.
Chaotic bouncing balls of all sizes... (source)
Taking down a butterfly net from a hook on the wall, I try to spot the right answer. SWOOSH! I snag one ball in my net, grasp it with the other hand, and inspect it.
Nope; that's not the right one. I toss it back into the melee.
SWOOSH! I snag another ball in my net and inspect it.
Hmmmm - not that one either. Then, after one or two more repetitions, Voila! This is it!
I hang the net back up on the wall, exit the room, leaving the chaos behind, and offer up my answer.
They say it takes all kinds. Dan, God bless him, is one kind. I'm another, utterly different kind. Yet we work well together, accomplishing much.
*FIN*
NOTE: Throughout my posts, you may notice hyperlinks like this one that lead to supplemental material. Most images are also hyperlinked. While not essential to the enjoyment of my writing, you may find the linked background information enlightening (or at least mildly interesting).
ALL IMAGES are either my own, derived from open source material, or used with permission.
