I know I spend a lot of time in my columns expounding on the ignorance of pundits, politicians, and other so-called experts. This . . . really isn't going to be much different.
I'd like to rant a bit about the "experts" (self-described and not) who don't know how things work. This is very common.
Take a moment and look at any business, any modern convenience. Look at electricity, or computers, or plumbing. Now ask yourself just what it takes for those things to work properly. Do you know? Really have even a basic grasp?
You're probably not too bad admitting your ignorance – and my guess is that depending on what you do you might have a good idea of how some of these run. Heck, you just need to watch "Dirty Jobs" or similar shows to get a large amount of understanding about jobs and industries shoved straight into your brain.
I really wish some politicians, commentators, pundits, so-called industry experts, and others who shoot their mouth off really had some of this knowledge. Or even a basic knowledge of their ignorance.
Why do I say this? Because what I usually hear is talk about abstract ideas from a lot of people in media and politics who have no idea of how people's lives work.
What I hear is people discussing tax cuts and rates, and the need for competition, and political theory, and of course vastly misunderstood tracts of history.
Where's the things that keeps stuff running? Where's the upkeep of what we have? Where's the understanding of how things run now? Where's the idea of how things got to where they are?
In that, for so many experts, there's often silence. Or ignorance. Or perhaps praise for "innovation" by people who haven't innovated anything useful in decades if not their entire life. Or the usual praise of one single individual who has nothing to do with how things run.
Vast lines delivery electricity and require constant update, and plumbing and water is the same way. Microsoft and Apple and various Linux companies pump out updates and maintain knowledge bases for the computers running the planet. Farmers and farming companies grow food and send it forth. Behind it all of course is power, oil, electricity.
So where's the talk by the pundits and politicians about infrastructure and its maintenance (if you've followed the condition of American roads and upkeep you know)? Where's the talk of all the people that not only make things work, but that keep things from falling apart? Where's the understanding of the foundations of our world and all the things that make it run?
Yeah, I know.
Here's the thing to remember when dealing with the overpaid commentors and politicians – too many of them don't know how things run or don't care. It's up to you to.
Knowing how the world works will let you plan your career and your life plans. It helps you see the pulse of the world and how it runs. You'll make much better decisions.
If only more people who were paid to do it did.
– Steven Savage