Mad Geek
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Reverse Logic
I have been told by some that I often hide behind logic. They never really explain to me what that's supposed to mean, but apparently it's a grievous character flaw. I personally believe that I have never hidden behind logic, but rather just use it more than most people. This has it's positives and negatives to it, so I'm not sure it's exactly an advantage to think this way, but I believe I've learned to deal with it pretty well.
This manner of thinking helps me quite abit in my profession. As I've stated before, I am an IT Administrator (tech support) and assist people over phone or over LAN to fix numerous network and desktop problems. Many of them are things they have gotten themselves in, but some of them are genuine "glitches" that just so happen to occur as they were saving something important.
My ingrained logic makes it very easy for me to troubleshoot in a very linear manner, which is probably why they hired me here more than my actual technical skill. You can always train someone to have technical skill, but you can't train someone to troubleshoot (sort of a nature vs. nurture thing I guess).
The funny thing is, many of the people who call me think that they know more than I do and often argue with me when I try to fix their problem. I often think to myself, "No, you don't know what you're talking about. If you did, you wouldn't be calling me!" For some reason, they are convinced, that because they are sitting right in front of (and are the cause of) the error or problem, they automatically know more about it than I do. Sounds dumb, yes, but its something we all do to a point. I like to call this "Reverse Logic", since it somehow makes complete sense to whoever is thinking it, and absolutely NO sense to anyone thinking about it.
I don't claim to be the one to come up with the idea of "Reverse Logic", as I think I've heard it from somewhere before, but I can't find anything about it online, and everyone I explain it to look at me like I have far too much free time [not true, my brain is simply hyperactive]. I do believe, however, that I will be the first to write a guide to dealing with Reverse Logic.
Step 1: Remember, you are the superior one! This may or may not be true, but so long as you project yourself as such, you're likely to get farther with someone who is out of their gourd.
Step 2: Actually answer rhetorical questions . . . with very short phrases. As the old saying goes, "Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer."
Step 3: Never insult the other person's intelligence . . . you can't talk about what's not there.
Step 4: The blank "I Have No Idea Where You Got That" stare is your best friend. It helps rub in the point that they don't know what they're talking about without you ever having to say it.
These are basic rules, but they can be used for nearly every encounter with someone who isn't thinking. Let me lay down a role-playing example:
Me: What seems to be the matter?
Caller: Well, I kept using the wrong password and now my system is locked.
Me (using logic): Have you tried using the correct password?
Caller (reverse logic): Well, everyone around me changed their password, so I figured my password had changed, too.
[This is normally where I would use Step 4, but it's rather ineffective on the phone]
Caller: So, just because they changed their password doesn't mean my password is changed too.
Me: Right. [See Step 2]
As I stated before, though, not everyone who uses Reverse Logic is dumb. Furthermore, they don't always use it, either. Funny thing is, I've noticed men do it a lot more than women, but women do it worse! Case in point:
Men-
Me: Honey, how on Earth did you fit this in the dishwasher? It doesn't fit on this rack!
Tine (with the blank stare on me): Thats because I put it on the other rack.
Me (reverse logic): Really? But I could have sworn you put it on this rack.
Tine: Nope.
Women-
Caller (starting off with reverse logic): I didn't know what was happening, and it was beeping, so I deleted stuff.
Me: What stuff?
Caller: I don't know.
Me: Why did you do that?
Caller: I don't know.
See the difference?
I hope this little guide helps you the next time you are confronted by someone who can't seem to think straight. I also hope it helps explain why I may be looking at you blankly! :-)
This manner of thinking helps me quite abit in my profession. As I've stated before, I am an IT Administrator (tech support) and assist people over phone or over LAN to fix numerous network and desktop problems. Many of them are things they have gotten themselves in, but some of them are genuine "glitches" that just so happen to occur as they were saving something important.
My ingrained logic makes it very easy for me to troubleshoot in a very linear manner, which is probably why they hired me here more than my actual technical skill. You can always train someone to have technical skill, but you can't train someone to troubleshoot (sort of a nature vs. nurture thing I guess).
The funny thing is, many of the people who call me think that they know more than I do and often argue with me when I try to fix their problem. I often think to myself, "No, you don't know what you're talking about. If you did, you wouldn't be calling me!" For some reason, they are convinced, that because they are sitting right in front of (and are the cause of) the error or problem, they automatically know more about it than I do. Sounds dumb, yes, but its something we all do to a point. I like to call this "Reverse Logic", since it somehow makes complete sense to whoever is thinking it, and absolutely NO sense to anyone thinking about it.
I don't claim to be the one to come up with the idea of "Reverse Logic", as I think I've heard it from somewhere before, but I can't find anything about it online, and everyone I explain it to look at me like I have far too much free time [not true, my brain is simply hyperactive]. I do believe, however, that I will be the first to write a guide to dealing with Reverse Logic.
Step 1: Remember, you are the superior one! This may or may not be true, but so long as you project yourself as such, you're likely to get farther with someone who is out of their gourd.
Step 2: Actually answer rhetorical questions . . . with very short phrases. As the old saying goes, "Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer."
Step 3: Never insult the other person's intelligence . . . you can't talk about what's not there.
Step 4: The blank "I Have No Idea Where You Got That" stare is your best friend. It helps rub in the point that they don't know what they're talking about without you ever having to say it.
These are basic rules, but they can be used for nearly every encounter with someone who isn't thinking. Let me lay down a role-playing example:
Me: What seems to be the matter?
Caller: Well, I kept using the wrong password and now my system is locked.
Me (using logic): Have you tried using the correct password?
Caller (reverse logic): Well, everyone around me changed their password, so I figured my password had changed, too.
[This is normally where I would use Step 4, but it's rather ineffective on the phone]
Caller: So, just because they changed their password doesn't mean my password is changed too.
Me: Right. [See Step 2]
As I stated before, though, not everyone who uses Reverse Logic is dumb. Furthermore, they don't always use it, either. Funny thing is, I've noticed men do it a lot more than women, but women do it worse! Case in point:
Men-
Me: Honey, how on Earth did you fit this in the dishwasher? It doesn't fit on this rack!
Tine (with the blank stare on me): Thats because I put it on the other rack.
Me (reverse logic): Really? But I could have sworn you put it on this rack.
Tine: Nope.
Women-
Caller (starting off with reverse logic): I didn't know what was happening, and it was beeping, so I deleted stuff.
Me: What stuff?
Caller: I don't know.
Me: Why did you do that?
Caller: I don't know.
See the difference?
I hope this little guide helps you the next time you are confronted by someone who can't seem to think straight. I also hope it helps explain why I may be looking at you blankly! :-)
:: posted by Zuke, 7:03 AM
