Dense But Smart

 A LOT of people are dense. But they're also very smart. To what they know in life. But, most haven't really excelled in life simply because a small thing always gets in their way.

An example, I deal with at work, always gets on my nerves. Because there is a simple solution to all this...

So, whenever we have a technical glitch to the problem, I simply ask a person all the steps they've been through to ascertain that something isn't working. You know...CUT OUT ALL THE STEPS I NEED TO GO THROUGH to find out what I already know. Why? Because you already told me.

Let's run through this:

Co-worker: "Dude the main boards are fried."

Me: "Okay, walk me through what you've done so I don't have to do the same thing."

Versus

Me: "Dude, the main boards are fried"

Co-worker: "Okay, I'm going to check this and check that and run this cable and check the power load..."

Hey dummy...all of that was already tried. But dense people do this. They DO NOT stop to think that the person telling these things have already gone through the procedures to get to that point.

I am not suggesting you take the person's word for it, but then get into specifics. For instance, if I told you I already checked the power load, you take a minute to think...okay...one less step to consider. Instead, super dense person goes through the motions, wastes time and gets back to where we began our conversation. It is the most aggravating thing. Because what it really says is, they believe you didn't do something right.

Now, I'm not new to this game. It would make sense if it was a new person. But fuck a duck, I live with these machines/computers for a great deal of time. The belief that you think I lack awareness to know the nuances of this is insulting.

In the production world, this happens a lot. Too many people read books and none put it into practice. I read Michael Caine's acting book, there is NO WAY in Hell I'd ever pass my experience off as any way to conduct my career as an actor (in my blog, I say what I would want an actor to be through the eyes of direction OR put credit where credit would be due). A lot of these young kids are book learned and have zero field experience. And then they get shot in the face.

Don't be fucking dense. Take a moment to digest what is going on before you chime in. Acknowledge the words that are flowing through the mouth of someone who obvious has more experience than you. Be grateful they're even sharing any info.