SAAD
I experienced Sudden Adult Alzheimer's Disease (SAAD) today at work.
I was chatting with a co-worker about what we both did this past weekend. I told her about hanging out with a couple of friends at the Haight Ashbury Street Fair on Sunday, but I couldn't for the life of me remember what I did on Saturday, which was strange because I remember thinking myself on Friday how I have a full weekend planned.
A few hours passed at work, about five, and I suddenly remembered what I did on Saturday. I had my first class for Contract Management. I completely forgot that I spent 7 long hours in a stuffy classroom listening to a dryer than the Sahara lecturer drone on about the kinds of contracts one will encounter when hiring, well, a contractor.
I had completely blocked the entire day out of my mind, like Saturday never happened. Now I haven't experienced that kind of memory loss since I took that red pill, er, nevermind. Anyway... So I lost an entire day due to SAAD. Thinking back on it, I can understand why I loss all memory of the day. The lecturer! The lecturer is the type of person that feels the need to have a "joke of the day." Seriously, he actually told us to be ready for his "joke of the day." Now if any of you have had to endure a seminar or a lecture of any sort and the speaker feels the need to warn you about an impending joke, you know you are in for a long day. When you encounter the type of person that tells you he or she is going to tell you a joke is a VERY good indication that this person is boring.
What I want to know is why do these type of people think that telling their joke (usually a painfully unfunny one, at that) is going to make the lecture anymore exciting? I'm baffled. If anything, giving the "warning" that a "joke" is about to be unleashed, is the first indication that the speaker/lecturer has abdicated any pretence of actually having an interesting personality.
We have all had teachers that were as boring as Ralph Fienes in The English Patient, but they, if you are lucky, don't try to compensate for their lack of personality by telling jokes. With teachers, they have probably been teaching so long, that they are filled with nothing but contempt for the students, therefore, they don't care anymore, anyway. With a teacher, you know what you are getting. There is no "oh, god, he's trying to be funny" moments. People that are boring, and know it, don't try to tell jokes. Truth in advertising is always the best way. It's like those awful commercials that Microsoft had with the people that had dinosaur heads on. Big mistake. Microsoft products are boring. Everyone knows Microsoft products are boring, but Microsoft tried to make themselves "interesting." Maybe Microsoft was trying to be ironic? If so, it did not work. Now the new Apple computer adds with the cute kid and the nerdy business guy? Brilliant. Apple knows they are cool and interesting and that Microsoft is not. The ads work wonderfully. Know who you are and you will do fine.
If you are boring, own it.
Now if someone could just give me a call at, say, around 7:45 am this Saturday so I don't forget my class, I would be grateful.
I was chatting with a co-worker about what we both did this past weekend. I told her about hanging out with a couple of friends at the Haight Ashbury Street Fair on Sunday, but I couldn't for the life of me remember what I did on Saturday, which was strange because I remember thinking myself on Friday how I have a full weekend planned.
A few hours passed at work, about five, and I suddenly remembered what I did on Saturday. I had my first class for Contract Management. I completely forgot that I spent 7 long hours in a stuffy classroom listening to a dryer than the Sahara lecturer drone on about the kinds of contracts one will encounter when hiring, well, a contractor.
I had completely blocked the entire day out of my mind, like Saturday never happened. Now I haven't experienced that kind of memory loss since I took that red pill, er, nevermind. Anyway... So I lost an entire day due to SAAD. Thinking back on it, I can understand why I loss all memory of the day. The lecturer! The lecturer is the type of person that feels the need to have a "joke of the day." Seriously, he actually told us to be ready for his "joke of the day." Now if any of you have had to endure a seminar or a lecture of any sort and the speaker feels the need to warn you about an impending joke, you know you are in for a long day. When you encounter the type of person that tells you he or she is going to tell you a joke is a VERY good indication that this person is boring.
What I want to know is why do these type of people think that telling their joke (usually a painfully unfunny one, at that) is going to make the lecture anymore exciting? I'm baffled. If anything, giving the "warning" that a "joke" is about to be unleashed, is the first indication that the speaker/lecturer has abdicated any pretence of actually having an interesting personality.
We have all had teachers that were as boring as Ralph Fienes in The English Patient, but they, if you are lucky, don't try to compensate for their lack of personality by telling jokes. With teachers, they have probably been teaching so long, that they are filled with nothing but contempt for the students, therefore, they don't care anymore, anyway. With a teacher, you know what you are getting. There is no "oh, god, he's trying to be funny" moments. People that are boring, and know it, don't try to tell jokes. Truth in advertising is always the best way. It's like those awful commercials that Microsoft had with the people that had dinosaur heads on. Big mistake. Microsoft products are boring. Everyone knows Microsoft products are boring, but Microsoft tried to make themselves "interesting." Maybe Microsoft was trying to be ironic? If so, it did not work. Now the new Apple computer adds with the cute kid and the nerdy business guy? Brilliant. Apple knows they are cool and interesting and that Microsoft is not. The ads work wonderfully. Know who you are and you will do fine.
If you are boring, own it.
Now if someone could just give me a call at, say, around 7:45 am this Saturday so I don't forget my class, I would be grateful.
posted by Michael at 7:43 PM
1 Comments:
i just have to say that those microsoft ads are some of the most disturbing/annoying ones out there
life is too cluttered as it is...i don't have any room for bad marketing
Post a Comment
<< Home