In my last newsletter I stated I had taken a new part time role at one of the local universities here in Melbourne. Most of my dealings have been with 3rd year engineering students, but occasionally I get to deal final year and postgraduate students.
Remember, when dealing with students, they have been conditioned by the education system for the instructors to tell them the scope of work. I am still learning how to deal with the new paradigm (which is different in industry, where we workers often define our scope of work). While describing what I expected on a drawing, I said they would not need to show lubrication pumps. One student asked “what is a lubrication pump?”
Pause … should they know this? Quickly thinking back to when I was in university, I remember working on my car and my friends car, so I knew about lubrication systems. Since that was my frame of reference, I gave a bad, but correct answer.
Afterwards, when the head of department said she did not know what a lubrication pump was, I realised my “normal” was not everyone’s “normal”.
It is surprising what people do not know what you would expect them to know. Recently I delivered a training course. This course required the participants to do some calculations. Anyone with a smart phone has a calculator in their phone, so I think nothing of just giving the problem without asking if people have a calculator. Five times to date (twice in the last course) people have said they needed a better calculator because the calculator in their phone was not adequate. I took their phone, rotated it 90 degrees (so it was in “landscape” mode instead of “portrait” mode) and a scientific calculator appeared. They had been using their phone for I don’t know how long, and they did not know this. Naturally I get a buzz out of showing a young person how to use their gadget, but that is a different story.
As a migrant to Australia, I have found I have learned more about the history of the city of Melbourne than many lifelong locals. Much of that knowledge is considered “trivia”, but still.
Some more examples …
I once reviewed an emergency evacuation procedure. It required people to assemble in the car park. I told the author that as a visitor, I would go to my car and drive away. This would screw up the head count. She said no one would do that because all of the employees would need to go back to work. I countered with the fact that I was a visitor and was free to go at any time, and also employees that respond to an incident at quitting time will also go home. She re-wrote her procedure.
When I first moved to Australia, I had been taught the American method of directions (north side of the street, east side of the building, etc). When I arrived in Australia, I had to learn such terms as “river side of the street, city side of the building, etc. I remember the looks I got when I asked “which way is the city?”
While delivering a training course, I used the term “clockwise”. Immediately, a participant looked at his watch.
While delivering a training course, I was trying to describe a pressurised room. Fire exits in high rises came to mind, how the stairwell is pressurised to keep smoke and combustibles out. Mistake – the country I was in does not pressurise their fire exit stairwells – they only turn them on when the fire alarm is activated.
In New Zealand, I was driving in a road construction zone. Two roads had to merge into one. The road sign said “Merge Like a Zip” with a diagram of a zipper. First time I have ever seen two roads merge where both were of equal importance – “normally” one must merge and give way into the other.
I am sure there are others. We would love to hear yours.