Knowing How Versus Knowing Why (Revised)

The theory “those who know how work for those who know why” is extremely relevant in cultures worldwide. It ultimately separates the wolves from the sheep in terms of careers and a variety of other pursuits in life. To start, let’s dissect the term and give it more meaning. The easiest way to do this is to fill in the gaps: Those who know how ____ work for those who know why ____.

I’ll use a job that I once held as an example: Those who know how to be a good server at Chilies work for those who know why they need a good server at Chilies.

How to be a good server: greet table in a timely manner, look presentable, be personable, etc.

Why having a good server is important: A good server will bring in more customers, who will buy more food, which will make the restaurant more money, which will rank the restaurant higher in its chain of corporate competitors, etc.

Do you see where I’m going with this? I’m not trying to downgrade being a server at any restaurant, but it’s a lot easier to learn how to do something than to really evaluate all of the pros and cons and learn why all components of a system have to be working cohesively to progressively further that system. Regardless of how competently an individual completes a task, if they never learn the importance of why they’re doing it, they’re limiting their opportunities to advance; which, in turn, keeps them stuck at the low end of the totem pole.

Using my example, a server that simply comes to work and makes no effort in learning why their job is important will be far less likely to be given opportunity for promotion and the ability to climb the corporate ladder; which consequently, will result in loss of greater financial stability. Ph.D. Randal S. Hansen, college instructor and founder of a lasting career development website, states in this article “It goes without saying that one of the best ways to succeed in getting a promotion is to expand your knowledge and skills sets in areas that are critical to the organization.” (#5. Acquire new knowledge and skills)

However, one might argue that simply expanding your knowledge and “knowing why” will not ensure you a more prominent position, or a higher salary; which is true. There are definitely other aspects closely linked to establishing higher ground (e.g. building professional relationships at work, being charismatic, et cetera). Steve Bodow, writer for global executive search firm Spencer Stuart, discusses one of many beneficial workplace characteristics in his USA Today article, Charmed, I'm Sure. He states that “in the past few years, charisma has become important to business executives," (Para. 1) continuing with “[charisma] is one form of persuasive acumen among many…” (Para. 5) Of course, there are many other aspects involved in advancing professionally, but the main point here is that “knowing why” is a crucial part in doing so.

On another note, one may find fulfillment in their current role and feel no need to seek promotion. It’s important to emphasize the role of the “know how” individual in the bigger scheme of things; without them, the entire system would ultimately fail. It really just comes down to good decision making and deciding what’s best for you (e.g. options, consequences, values, and risks). As our text states in chapter 11, it’s important to “weigh up which alternative is best in the light of the consequences.” (Pg. 162) For example, you may be making more money in a position with more responsibility, but have less time for your family; which raises clear and undesirable possibility. 

While it’s true that “those who know how work for those who know why,” it doesn’t mean that either alternative is better or worse. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. You really just have to ask yourself, what’s the best decision for me? Do I want to be a know how person or a know why person? Regardless of which option you feel is best for you, knowledge is power, and the more aware you are, the more opportunities will be given to you.

Technology and Intelligence

Television and internet have clearly become major staples in our pop culture over the last fifty years. I don’t think they’ve destroyed Americans’ ability to read and think critically about ideas, but they have definitely changed the way we gather information. The easy-to-access information that television and (primarily) the internet have created, allow people to find what they’re looking for within a matter of seconds, rather than devoting vast time and energy to researching whatever subject they may be interested in. Could a lessening of in-depth and extensive data reflection have created a less intelligent society?

As writer, Nicholas Carr, states in his article Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains, “My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in a sea of worlds. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a jet ski.” (Carr, Para. 4) He goes on to discuss the fact that he and acquaintances of his, “mainly literary types,” seem to have lost the attention span to become fully emerged in a book or extensive article; they merely “skim” through to find what they’re looking for. His belief is that this information overload is harming our ability to think. More specifically, that various aspects of the world-wide-web (e.g. hyperlinks, pop-ups, etc.) are creating continuous distraction and preventing deep contemplation, which in turn, is negatively rewiring our cognitive patterns.

While Carr raises a thought provoking argument, many disagree with his point of view. Jamais Cascio (writer and supporter of Steven Johnson’s Everything Bad Is Good For You), raised a conflicting argument in his article Get Smarter—which was released in the same publication. Cascio states, “[T]he proliferation of diverse voices may actually improve our overall ability to think,” (Cascio, Para. 11) to which he continues, “we shouldn’t let the stresses associated with a transition to a new era blind us to that era’s astonishing potential.” (Cascio, Para. 12)

Whether or not our modern technological age will dumb us down really depends on our ability to evolve into this information overload. We may not be submerging ourselves as frequently into a single source of information, but having access to multiple sources with the touch of a finger can allow for further discovery, which in turn, has the potential to act as a mind enhancing experience. Considering that the internet is certainly not going anywhere anytime soon, it’s important that we use critical thinking skills to consider how valuable the possibilities that this information flood can have on us (Critical Thinking, Pg. 160)

Ray Bradbury may have been partially right with his fear of “people being turned into morons by T.V.” but how these mediums affect our intelligence, and our society as a whole, is based on how we go about using them. Immersing ourselves into hours of brainless reality television obviously won’t have a positive impact on our culture, but there are ways of using these technologies to our advantage. If we are heading into a time when authorities burn books for our own good, it will be because they have become obsolete in comparison to the sea of information that the internet has given us. 

I was unable to embed this video into blogger, so here is a link to the Ray Bradbury interview that I took the above quote from: http://www.raybradbury.com/images/video/about_freeDOM.html

Knowing How Versus Knowing Why

The theory that “those who know how work for those who know why” is extremely relevant in cultures worldwide. It ultimately separates the wolves from the sheep in terms of careers, and other various pursuits in life. To start, let’s dissect the term and give it more meaning. The easiest way to do this is to fill in the gaps: Those who know how ____ work for those who know why ____.

I’ll use a job that I once held as an example: Those who know how to be a good server at Chilies work for those who know why they need a good server at Chilies.

How to be a good server: greet table in a timely manner, look presentable, be personable, etc.

Why having a good server is important: A good server will bring in more customers, who will buy more food, which will make the restaurant more money, which will rank the restaurant higher in its chain of corporate competitors, etc.

Do you see where I’m going with this? Not to downgrade being a server at any restaurant, but it’s far easier to learn how to do something than to really evaluate all of the pros and cons and learn why various components of a system must be working cohesively to progressively further the system. Regardless of how competently an individual completes a task, if they never learn the importance of why they are doing it, they are limiting their opportunities to advance; which, in turn, keeps them stuck on the low end of the totem pole.

In my example, the server that simply comes to work and makes no effort to learn why their job is important will be far less likely to be given the opportunity for promotion and the ability to climb the corporate ladder; consequently, loss of greater financial stability. As Ph.D. Randal S. Hansen states in this article “It goes without saying that one of the best ways to succeed in getting a promotion is to expand your knowledge and skills sets in areas that are critical to the organization” (#5. Acquire new knowledge and skills).

One might argue that simply knowing why will not ensure you a more prominent position, or a higher salary; which is true. There are various other necessary attributes involved to help yourself move forward (e.g. establishing professional relationships at work, being charismatic, etc.). An article in USA Today even stated that, “charisma has become important to business executives," (Para. 1) and goes on to mention the power that it really can have over people. There are many notable ways of furthering yourself; however, the main point here is that “knowing why” is a crucial step in doing so and further illustrates the proposal that “those who know how work for those who know why”.

On another note, one may find comfort and fulfillment in their current role and feel no need to proceed. I feel it’s also important to emphasize the role of the “know how” individual in the bigger scheme of things; without them, the entire system would fail. It really just comes down to good decision making and deciding what’s best for you (e.g. options, consequences, values, and risks). As our text states in chapter 11, it’s important to “weigh up which alternative is best in the light of the consequences” (Pg. 162). For example, you may be making more money in a position with more responsibility, but have less time for your family, and thus gain feelings of guilt and unhappiness.

While it’s true that “those who know how work for those who know why,” this doesn’t mean that either alternative is better or worse. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. You really just have to ask yourself, what is the best decision for me? Do I want to be a know how or a know why person? Regardless, knowledge is power, and the more aware you are, the more opportunities will be given to you.

Television and Child Development

One way in which technology has changed human society to a major degree lies behind the creation of television, and more prominently, cable TV and the television-crazed, “couch-potato” lifestyle. While cable television obviously isn’t the newest technological creation, it has been a thriving and major staple in pop culture since its conception and has certainly affected our society as a whole. It is widely known that too much television is not healthy, but how is cable TV really affecting our society, especially our children?

As stated on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, the prevalence of childhood obesity has greatly increased over the past few decades. Obviously, watching television alone will not cause for weight gain, however, the two are closely linked. CDC mentions: “several studies have found a positive association between the time spent viewing television and increased prevalence of obesity in children". The real connection here lies in the fact that while watching TV, individuals are not physically active, and often times, eating while they are doing so; on top of the fact that, fast-food companies such as McDonald's and Burger King are constantly targeting younger audiences in purchasing their fatty foods.   

A recent survey proclaimed: "television viewing in middle school and high school predicted poorer dietary intake five years later" and goes on to mention the potential to cause unhealthy eating habits later in life. Thus, factual studies show that because of marketing ploys and lack of physical activity, et cetera, excessive television viewing can promote and lead to weight gain and unhealthy habits. Negative habits learned in adolescence can likely continue into, and possibly through, adulthood. Therefore, in a nation with a progressively growing obesity rate (among children and adults), these correlations are noteworthy of mentioning and taken seriously. If watching less TV can cause for a healthier America and healthier children, then we should most definitely watch less TV!

Also worth mentioning is the amount of violence that children are subjected to through regular TV viewing, and how this can potentially affect them psychologically. TV violence and profanity, as well as other adult themes, are becoming more and more accepted in our mainstream media. Television norms used to be widely based around the “perfect” family (e.g. Leave It to Beaver and Howdy Doody), but in our modern day and age, extreme violence is not abnormal to witness on a popular television show.

Research in the Psychiatric Times states that “televised violence does influence viewers’ attitudes, values, and behavior”. It goes on to mention that extensive viewing of violence in television can cause feelings of overestimated fear, increases in aggressive behavior, and desensitization to real life violence. Even in a child's cartoon there will be multiple violent interactions within only a series of minutes; not to mention adult themed TV shows that children may well have access to. 

There are also positive effects that television has on our society. For example, television offers educational programs such as Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer to help young children learn basic problem solving skills, as well as, basic cultural differences. It also offers various wilderness survival based programs (e.g. Dual Survival, Survivalman), and it can also serve as a means to keep individuals in touch with current events of the period. However, in excess, the cons certainly out-weigh the pros!

Television should be seen strictly as a means of entertainment, and should not be an excessive part of anyone’s daily routine. Children especially should be monitored and limited in terms of what television shows they watch and how often they watch television. Given that “television is one of the most prevalent media influences in kids’ lives”, it is imperative to take the negative affects of excessive television viewing seriously. Although children don’t ever want to be bored, boredom without TV can act as a means towards a more progressive and mind-enhancing end.

Here's an interesting YouTube video regarding violence on TV and children: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIYkpv-_02w&feature=PlayList&p=627887C17B1EC03E&index=0&playnext=1