Great Advice – I’m Talking To You “Know it all”

August 17, 2014

Have you ever come across a fellow IT employee or even other technical minded peers and got that feeling they knew everything and anything that there is to ever know about the IT world ?

Well i have and too often then i would like to admit. There are alot of very skilled IT admins/engineers/programmers etc.. out there and i know for some of them they strive to learn everyday, even if they have been at it for 20years. The IT world is a dynamic one and the pace of it all can be definitely overwhelming at times. There will be those people out there that no matter what, they will make time to help and maintain an open mind to new ideas and solutions, these are the guys you want to work with, work for or have working for you.  Due to the pace of the industry we all specialise in one aspect and learn and learn and learn, as an IT worker i will be reading until the day i retire but most probably until the day i die, all in the name of knowledge.

Then there are those “Know it all’s” and it doesn’t discriminate, young, old,  fresh or experienced. Cause no matter what, nothing you offer is right or good enough, they tend to work alone and strive to take all the credit. They can also be found on forums criticising the OP about his or her’s lack of knowledge in the post and often tearing the technical flaws presented to shreds (probably after googling it first). They often keep their minds locked tight and trying to satisfy them (especially if they are superior or your boss) is like putting a square block in a round hole.  It will just never work. They are the trolls of the IT world i think, i would like to never have to work with such a person but the world is unique and diverse, so hey i like a challenge.

 

So the advice you ask ? well if any of you have read “Learn Python The Hard Way” by Zed A.Shaw you may have spotted this while reading the introduction.

 

Excerpt from “Learn Python Hard Way” Zed A.Shaw

Sometimes people who already know a programming language will read this book and feel I’m insulting them. There is nothing in this book that is intended to be interpreted as condescending, insulting, or belittling. I simply know more about programming than my intended readers. If you think you are smarter than me, then you will feel talked down to and there’s nothing I can do about that because you are not myintended reader.

If you are reading this book and flipping out at every third sentence because you feel I’m insulting your intelligence, then I have three points of advice for you:

  1. Stop reading my book. I didn’t write it for you. I wrote it for people who don’t already know everything.
  2. Empty before you fill. You will have a hard time learning from someone with more knowledge if you already know everything.
  3. Go learn Lisp. I hear people who know everything really like Lisp.

For everyone else who’s here to learn, just read everything as if I’m smiling and I have a mischievous little twinkle in my eye.

Source: http://learnpythonthehardway.org/book/intro.html

 

Now those three dot points, don’t you just think they are wonderful ? Well i do and i just wanted to share.