From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 10261c,90121986704b5776 X-Google-Attributes: gid10261c,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,4873305131bf4d94 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 109fba,4873305131bf4d94 X-Google-Attributes: gid109fba,public X-Google-Thread: fdb77,4873305131bf4d94 X-Google-Attributes: gidfdb77,public X-Google-Thread: 10c950,90121986704b5776 X-Google-Attributes: gid10c950,public X-Google-Thread: 1014db,4873305131bf4d94 X-Google-Attributes: gid1014db,public From: seebs@plethora.net (Peter Seebach) Subject: Re: Your english sucks, mine is better. Date: 1997/11/28 Message-ID: <65nhvg$q49$1@darla.visi.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 293501586 References: <34557f2b.1934172@news.mindspring.com> <65iclc$cms$5@darla.visi.com> Organization: Plethora Internet NNTP-Posting-Date: 28 Nov 1997 16:52:32 CST Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.c,comp.lang.c++,comp.lang.java.advocacy,comp.lang.pascal.ansi-iso,comp.lang.pascal.misc Date: 1997-11-28T16:52:32-06:00 List-Id: In article , wrote: >> Still, I've met people who start by lying about what they can do, and >> then try to cover up for it. Now, you can blame part of this on the >> manager not inspiring them, or firing them if they won't work, but the >> employee is responsible for some of this too... >My guess is the person was, in most instances, not lying but rather >"believed" he/she could do it (shine; take a short term risk to realize >longer term results, for example) given the opportunity. Nah. I knew a guy who had never done any real programming, except for small test programs in Fortran, who put several years of C on his resume. He freely admitted he couldn't program if you asked him - after he got the job, and as long as a manager wasn't around. >Given enough time, I'll bet they could have too. After watching him for about two and a half years, I didn't think so. This is a guy who spent *weeks* writing code to convert DD/MM/YY dates to "November 25, 1997". Not to mention that he decided to use YY after 1996. I believe it took him six months to write a program which selected file names and ran a conversion program. He was simply *not a programmer*. Whatever it is that makes programmers go, he didn't have it. I think he would have been a fairly good tech writer. >Other times visions of what is >required, agreed to and what the potentials are, are seriously >misinterpretted by one or both parties. Nothing to resort to name >calling or ill feelings about however. It's just learning. It takes a >pretty "big" person to give someone real opportunity for achievement, >self-worth etc. Sometimes doing good may cost you something in the short >term. But in the fast-food age I realize this is idealistic. I believe there are people who really just aren't getting any better. I believe some of them will lie about this, because they'd rather have jobs than not. I've been in large companies, and I've seen sales reps say "well, I retire in spring, and I'm going to get a pretty decent pension, so I'm not talking to any customers any more. Don't try to give me accounts, I'm not taking any." (After some study, they realized the company's firing procedure would take longer than it would be before he retired and got the pension, so they gave up and paid him to stay home for six months.) Yeah, employers suck - but so do at least *some* employees. -s -- seebs@plethora.net -- I am not speaking for my employer. Copyright '97 All rights reserved. This was not sent by my cat. C and Unix wizard - send mail for help, or send money for a consultation. Visit my new ISP --- More Net, Less Spam! Plethora . Net