Comments on: Working with Words http://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2009/07/working-with-words/ Place. Limits. Liberty. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:38:46 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Artie http://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2009/07/working-with-words/#comment-6201 Artie Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:32:00 +0000 http://www.frontporchrepublic.com/?p=4534#comment-6201 Every time I visit this page I'm struck by the beautiful simplicity of the BMW 'airhead' on the cover of the book. The motto for the Airhead Owners Group is "simple by design." Every time I visit this page I’m struck by the beautiful simplicity of the BMW ‘airhead’ on the cover of the book. The motto for the Airhead Owners Group is “simple by design.”

]]> By: D.W. Sabin http://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2009/07/working-with-words/#comment-6176 D.W. Sabin Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:45:48 +0000 http://www.frontporchrepublic.com/?p=4534#comment-6176 Is the "knowledge worker's" jargon the half-baked replacement of machined parts with arcane names that fill the mind and talk of someone doing anything mechanical? The jargon has working parts it seems and so they must go together to make something useful or something that "works". Still, when the assembled phrases of jargon are put together, there is rarely any demonstration of concrete results and so the jargon, like much of popular language becomes simply a collection of symbols that perpetuate the mythology that this culture...such as it is....or more specifically, the culture of the technocrat and their legion produces anything of working merit at all, at least on purpose. I was glad to see your mention of Crawford's vocal meditations (and their sometimes too imposing noisiness) while engaged in mechanical work. One wonders if anyone ever practiced a little joinery or threw a pot or maybe discussed philosophy while assembling a Quarterly Report on the Marketing efforts of XYZ Corporation. Of course not because indentured corporatists cannot chew gum and walk at the same time, let alone possess a thought independent of the task glowing on their networked screen ...in between furtive glimpses at other web pages in order to break the death pall of gloom surrounding the technocrat and their cocoon of Mission Statements. As to specialization...your "sophisticated" is my "semi". Is the “knowledge worker’s” jargon the half-baked replacement of machined parts with arcane names that fill the mind and talk of someone doing anything mechanical? The jargon has working parts it seems and so they must go together to make something useful or something that “works”. Still, when the assembled phrases of jargon are put together, there is rarely any demonstration of concrete results and so the jargon, like much of popular language becomes simply a collection of symbols that perpetuate the mythology that this culture…such as it is….or more specifically, the culture of the technocrat and their legion produces anything of working merit at all, at least on purpose.

I was glad to see your mention of Crawford’s vocal meditations (and their sometimes too imposing noisiness) while engaged in mechanical work. One wonders if anyone ever practiced a little joinery or threw a pot or maybe discussed philosophy while assembling a Quarterly Report on the Marketing efforts of XYZ Corporation. Of course not because indentured corporatists cannot chew gum and walk at the same time, let alone possess a thought independent of the task glowing on their networked screen …in between furtive glimpses at other web pages in order to break the death pall of gloom surrounding the technocrat and their cocoon of Mission Statements.

As to specialization…your “sophisticated” is my “semi”.

]]> By: First Thoughts — A First Things Blog http://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2009/07/working-with-words/#comment-6170 First Thoughts — A First Things Blog Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:10:25 +0000 http://www.frontporchrepublic.com/?p=4534#comment-6170 [...] the watercooler of your local garage. Their posts tend to read like this section, from a entry by Susan McWilliams: It seems that our national inclination to value “knowledge work” – at least as it is [...] [...] the watercooler of your local garage. Their posts tend to read like this section, from a entry by Susan McWilliams: It seems that our national inclination to value “knowledge work” – at least as it is [...]

]]> By: Steve K. http://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2009/07/working-with-words/#comment-6067 Steve K. Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:28:42 +0000 http://www.frontporchrepublic.com/?p=4534#comment-6067 As a federal bureaucrat (no less, in the absolute citadel of jargon, the DOD, don't forget we like to spice up our buzzwords with a whole separate language of acronyms), this post speaks to me. In a very clear and jargon-free fashion, too! I'm up way too late, but hopefully tomorrow I can relate some insights from my workplace, where language goes to die. One thing, though, there is something seductive to all the gibberish - it marks you as part of the in-crowd. As a federal bureaucrat (no less, in the absolute citadel of jargon, the DOD, don’t forget we like to spice up our buzzwords with a whole separate language of acronyms), this post speaks to me. In a very clear and jargon-free fashion, too! I’m up way too late, but hopefully tomorrow I can relate some insights from my workplace, where language goes to die. One thing, though, there is something seductive to all the gibberish – it marks you as part of the in-crowd.

]]> By: An FPR Symposium: Shop Class as Soul Craft, by Matthew Crawford | Front Porch Republic http://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2009/07/working-with-words/#comment-6065 An FPR Symposium: Shop Class as Soul Craft, by Matthew Crawford | Front Porch Republic Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:31:46 +0000 http://www.frontporchrepublic.com/?p=4534#comment-6065 [...] Posts: Susan McWilliams and Jason [...] [...] Posts: Susan McWilliams and Jason [...]

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