Seeing

Being a techie I see things differently to the way many people see them. I understand this is a facet of any form of techieness, where that techieness has progressed to the relevant level. I hardly ever see things as they are. I look through the surface at what is behind. I see a motorbike (picking up an earlier topic) but I see engine capacity; I see miles per gallon; I see top speed; I see handling capabilities. I barely register the colour. Perhaps I'm not as techie as I could be because I do want a Thunderbird for almost purely superficial reasons. Are the political beasts that rule the countries and workplaces also special techies who see deep beneath the superficial words that generally blind me? Perhaps I just lack a relevant mental model to be good at people-engineering. Perhaps that's the same problem that non-techies face when presented with a complex computer system or non-mechanics have when presented with a breakdown. Read Robert Pirsig's, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance for some discussion of classical vs romantic views on the world. I think my people-engineering model is improving, but it's slow going.