Week 13/14 - The Ctrl+F Generation
- Sal Randazzo
- Apr 8, 2018
- 4 min read
April 8th! Thanks for reading and following along throughout the year - I really appreciate it! I think I'm going to switch to one post every two weeks as work is starting to pick up, the weather is starting to break, and our lives getting busier in the summer months.
This week I wanted to touch on something that I've been thinking about for quite some time now - what I call the information generation or "Ctrl+F."
I've been fortunate to gain most of my basic education without modern technology - then I get to thinking, "was that fortunate, or unnecessary?" Learning long-form division, understanding history's leaders, and memorizing the periodic table of elements - was that all for nothing? All of this information is at everyone's fingertips now and in most instances with one statement triggering the inquiry - "Hey Siri"
Now, everyone relies on the information they see on the internet. The speed in which information is gained can be extremely valuable IF APPLIED WITH CRITICAL THINKING. I cannot stress this enough! Although the technology wasn't available then, I can honestly say the way in which my generation learned basic education only taught us HOW to come to the right conclusion. Now, people are learning just WHAT the right conclusion is without understanding the HOW. I remember teachers hammering into us, "if you don't know something, look it up." This triggered a thirst for information, except back then you had to find an encyclopedia, thesaurus, or wait for the AOL dial tone to kick in and hope your parents didn't pick up the phone! It certainly wasn't as easy as it is now to find information, and the information you did find on the internet wasn't verified.
I believe that having information at your fingertips is an excellent tool if you possess the critical thinking skills to understand how & why it is correct. This goes back to the "show your work" process math teachers use! Remember quickly answering questions in homework assignments or quizzes and getting them wrong because you didn't show how you came to that answer? That is a valuable lesson in life! For example: you take your car to a mechanic - they tell you that you need new brakes, tires rotated, and blinker fluid and says it'll cost $500 to fix. Most people would say "UGGHH! - ok, go ahead and get it done." Some deductive reasoning would help you in this case - you've just been presented with the answer, ask the mechanic to "show your work." We need to understand HOW the mechanic came to the conclusion they did. In this scenario, you'd be able to quickly identify that blinker fluid isn't real and they're an untrustworthy mechanic. You just saved yourself some money, and potentially future headaches if you kept going back to that mechanic.
In my current job, we're presented with a specification book along with a set of complete drawings in order to construct projects for the DoD. The drawings communicate how something gets constructed, and the specifications detail the code requirements, product information, sequence of install, and warranty information required. In some instances, our specifications are nearly 1,000 pages long. In order to quickly find information, we use "Ctrl+F" - a search function within the PDF document to find a quick reference to what we need. This is an excellent tool to use to find information, if you can back it up with the deductive reasoning. An example: we need to find exactly how sinks are to be installed throughout a building. You go to the specification document, "Ctrl+F", type "Sinks." You will quickly find the reference to sink installation, regurgitate the information to your plumber, and his response is: "huh?!" This seems to be a very common scenario when working with Government-provided specifications. If you go back to your process, once you found the word "sinks," you'll realize that it was referenced in the cabinetry & countertop specification section. Your plumber doesn't know casework and that's why he gave you the response he did! You need to go to the plumbing specification section and provide him with the right information for his trade. Hopefully he didn't walk off your jobsite to a more efficient project!
Having a lot of information, quickly at your disposal is an excellent resource if applied with deductive reasoning. The information generation today can be excellent problem solvers for this world if they can "show their work." This will allow them to realize that processes can become more efficient and truly understand the WHYs of this world. I can almost see teaching becoming more evolved with today's society. Dare I say it, but maybe teachers will give the answer to a long-form division equation, and the correct answer will be the student who proves HOW the answer is correct. If not, then KIDS THESE DAYS (HA!) will just ask Siri how to get them through life - and that will be a tragedy.
Here are some shots of developments being constructed in our area - Enjoy!
I hope you enjoyed this post! I'm constantly seeking feedback - leave a comment below or send me a message letting me know what you think, how I can make this better, or if there's a topic you want me to cover!
Thanks for reading!
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About Sal Randazzo: Sal is a defense contractor, entrepreneur, and fitness enthusiast. His Blog is designed to share his life with his followers. His YouTube channel & Blog is a gallery of his work and personal life. Enjoy!
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