… is a double edged sword.
So, I was emailing back and forth with my friend Dan this morning, an efficiency expert.. A long-standing debate between us has been whether or not IM increases or decreases one’s work efficiency.
Anyway… of course, as per most conversations that involve me, our discussion digressed.
On Sep 17, 2008, at 9:39 AM, Dennis Yang wrote:
see? this is why IM is better than email.
On Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 9:45 AM, Dan wrote:
ah yes…. but like a sword, IM has two edges. as long as you’re using the right edge, you’re okay.
On Sep 17, 2008, at 9:47 AM, Dennis Yang wrote:
i dislike that metaphor. who says that there’s a “wrong side” of a double edged sword anyway? i mean, last i checked, a double edged sword affords the wielder *more* cutting power, both in a thrust and a backhanded swashbuckle. i don’t think that having a sharpened opposing edge of a sword really increases the danger to its wielder appreciably. sword wielding skill is still paramount, and if you’re hitting yourself in the head with a single edged sword, it’s really your fault, and not the sword’s.
On Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 9:54 AM, Dan wrote:
Touché! (So to speak.)
September 17th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Good point on the double-edged business. If you’re hurting yourself with your own sword, you’re doing something wrong. I think we owe it to the Internet to propagate a more appropriate metaphor. I’ll see what I can come up with.
Speaking of digressions, I had someone pull this incisive metaphor in a meeting last week:
“Well, if we really want to put the sausage on a fork…”
He was saying, “To be candidly blunt….” I was stunned. It was a beautiful and unknown turn of phrase for me. The metaphor works. If you have a sausage on a plate, there’s no need to dilly dally with cutting the sausage into bite size pieces. Just put the sucker on a fork and get on with it.
January 8th, 2009 at 5:46 am
yea! Swords rule.