RE: Literate/Illiterate (WAS: Documenting installers?)

Subject: RE: Literate/Illiterate (WAS: Documenting installers?)
From: Mailing List <mlist -at- ca -dot- safenet-inc -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 10:20:46 -0400


Jay -dot- Malone -at- ser -dot- com sez:
[...]
> >I'd expect them to be a highly
> >technical group. It's
> >just it would seem that computer expertise isn't necessary to
> >their core
> >job functions.
>
> ME AGAIN: The military does plenty that has nothing to do
> with any kind of
> technology, be it defense-related or not. These folks all had masters
> degrees in counseling, human resources, psychology, etc., and their
> expertise was in this area.

People can be very educated and still be non-technical, and
not merely in the computer sense.

Just for curiosity's sake, has anybody on this list ever
written -- or helped to write, or edited -- a manual for
a social-sciences procedure (other than something involving
stats)??

You know... "Say these words, pause 3.2 seconds, say these
other words, make this gesture, raise left eyebrow while
making this gesture, then say this word. Release aromas
3 and 9. Pause and await a result from the following table..." :-)

My impression is that the social sciences are becoming
real sciences in the area of gathering data and supporting/
disproving theories, but they still lack in the area of
engineering and technology. Someone who is perceptive and
empathic can be made more efficient, but somebody with
poor social aptitude can't be taught to perform a psych
procedure (correct someone's abberrance, or change their
opinion, etc.) the way they could learn to install software
or start a lawnmower or load the rocket-fuel without
causing an explosion.

How many psych or counseling procedures will work in a
reliable, predictable manner when performed in rote fashion
by someone who has little aptitude or training (which is to
say, someone who just read the manual...), compared to the same
service delivered by somebody who lives and breathes to
be a social worker or counselor?

I know that's moving away from the original thread, but it
would interest me to learn that some of you are documenting
"hard" procedures and techniques in the social sciences...
if those things exist.

Oh... but you probably can't talk about your work, or you'd
have to kill us... :-)

/kevin

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