WhatwasIsaying's definitions
None of us are as dumb as all of us.
A counter to the older, pro-teamwork adage "None of us are as smart as all of us."
Speaks to the risk of lower-level workers' input being useless if upper management gives its own opinion first, due to the tendency of workers to fall in line once the position of the leader (who could fire them for dissent) is known.
The wording above was written on a wall at NASA's Houston complex after the Challenger disaster, as reported by astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Although the concept has long been known of, once it took the form of an aphorism, it acquired a viral quality.
A counter to the older, pro-teamwork adage "None of us are as smart as all of us."
Speaks to the risk of lower-level workers' input being useless if upper management gives its own opinion first, due to the tendency of workers to fall in line once the position of the leader (who could fire them for dissent) is known.
The wording above was written on a wall at NASA's Houston complex after the Challenger disaster, as reported by astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Although the concept has long been known of, once it took the form of an aphorism, it acquired a viral quality.
Niels Bohr and son Aage asked low-level engineer Richard Feynman their questions before asking higher-ups like Oppenheimer, partly to avoid taking up important administrators' time, but also to avoid Kelly's law of committees. Asking the higher-ups first, with lower-level workers present, would have a chilling effect on the latter's offering their own ideas and concerns.
by WhatwasIsaying December 24, 2024
Get the Kelly's Law of Committeesmug. As AI improves, fewer people will be able to demonstrate by virtue of their intelligence that they are not computers.
As AI becomes better at diagnosing than doctors, Turing's Lemma applies. Customer service is a profession in which Turing's Lemma does not yet apply, unfortunately.
by WhatwasIsaying February 5, 2025
Get the Turing's Lemmamug. How was I supposed to know?
by WhatwasIsaying February 27, 2025
Get the HWISTKmug. A terrible thing happens when you don’t promote: nothing.
Source: Anonymous copywriter for WDVA radio in Virginia, 1975, appearing in an ad in The Danville Register
Misattributed to P.T. Barnum c. 1999
Source: Anonymous copywriter for WDVA radio in Virginia, 1975, appearing in an ad in The Danville Register
Misattributed to P.T. Barnum c. 1999
Barnum’s Law dictates that having an elevator pitch ready in case the CEO asks you what your function is could be a matter of keeping your job.
by WhatwasIsaying January 25, 2025
Get the Barnum’s Lawmug. Of greater danger than nobody knowing what to do is a broadly held presumption that somebody does.
Source: “‘Idiocracy’ is a disturbingly prescient reflection of our current reality, not because nobody knows anything but because everybody thinks somebody does." ~ Jared Bauer
Source: “‘Idiocracy’ is a disturbingly prescient reflection of our current reality, not because nobody knows anything but because everybody thinks somebody does." ~ Jared Bauer
Bauer's Rule of Idiocracy arises in part from characteristics discussed in Erich Fromm’s “Escape From Freedom,” including a desire to defer to a trusted figure to escape the burden of having to puzzle out matters for which one is ill-equipped, the learning curve is steep, or information is at best incomplete.
by WhatwasIsaying January 25, 2025
Get the Bauer's Rule of Idiocracymug. lesbians who go down on each other despite being unshaven
"And then lesbians...these are the 1960s-style lesbians, which you may or may not be familiar with. They differ a little bit from the modern versions in that they never had to buy dental floss." ~ a review of Argentinian sexploitation horror film "The Curious Dr. Humpp"
"And then lesbians...these are the 1960s-style lesbians, which you may or may not be familiar with. They differ a little bit from the modern versions in that they never had to buy dental floss." ~ a review of Argentinian sexploitation horror film "The Curious Dr. Humpp"
by WhatwasIsaying January 28, 2025
Get the lesbians who flossmug. antonym of microaggression
A gesture that, though small, nevertheless stands out as an acknowledgement of another's needs, discomfort, insecurity, suspicion, or general humanity
Often used in the context of interaction between members of group of traditionally differing levels of privilege, and thus falling under the rubric of "inclusion" in DEI
A gesture that, though small, nevertheless stands out as an acknowledgement of another's needs, discomfort, insecurity, suspicion, or general humanity
Often used in the context of interaction between members of group of traditionally differing levels of privilege, and thus falling under the rubric of "inclusion" in DEI
He did not get any food until his men had mostly finished, as a microvalidation of the greater energy demands of their chores, as well as an acknowledgement that, being senior, he had the pull to ensure food rations were regularly replenished.
Noticing that some of the girls were being cut off while trying to answer, the professor called on them by name if he had noticed they had initiated an answer earlier.
Even though he looked up the pronunciation of his students' names the night before, he asked if he had the pronunciation right at the first day's class anyway, a microvalidation that opened the door for a student to state a difference preference.
When the boy apologized for stepping on the man's heel, the man turned and nodded as a microvalidation to assure the boy there were no hard feelings.
When assigning the term project to be performed in relation to a parent's place of work, the teacher was careful to mention the mother as a possible choice, as a microvalidation or acknowledgment that the mother's role outside the home could be every bit as instructive and worthwhile to engage with, or that not every student lived with two parents.
Noticing that some of the girls were being cut off while trying to answer, the professor called on them by name if he had noticed they had initiated an answer earlier.
Even though he looked up the pronunciation of his students' names the night before, he asked if he had the pronunciation right at the first day's class anyway, a microvalidation that opened the door for a student to state a difference preference.
When the boy apologized for stepping on the man's heel, the man turned and nodded as a microvalidation to assure the boy there were no hard feelings.
When assigning the term project to be performed in relation to a parent's place of work, the teacher was careful to mention the mother as a possible choice, as a microvalidation or acknowledgment that the mother's role outside the home could be every bit as instructive and worthwhile to engage with, or that not every student lived with two parents.
by WhatwasIsaying February 16, 2025
Get the microvalidationmug.