More information, less knowledge?

We are surrounded by information being presented to us in a multitude of ways. Indeed the term "Information Overload" has been often used to describe how we seem to be drowning in a torrent of information. Yet we seem to be less certain of our knowledge, and more reluctant to take the information at face value. Possibly the more effort expended in publicity campaigns may be having the reverse effect. People appear to be suspicious, and look for the 'hidden agenda'. Belief in conspiracy theories looks to be growing in certain sections of the population.
Everyone is looking for solutions to the problems they see around them, but many are not sure where to turn.

I am prompted in these musings, as I ponder a reworking of the training manual to be used for new staff in our department. Sometimes newcomers bring useful new ideas, but sometimes they reject what is already working just because it is forced upon them.

growth and change

There is no standing still. There is either growth or decay. When we plant a small tree, we support it by providing a post beside it and gently tie the young tree to the support. If there is no support we risk the young tree being broken before it is strong enough to survive on its own. But if we tie the support too tightly we can kill the tree by stopping it from growing.
In the same way we support our children by being there for them when they need us, but not being too restrictive. Sure we need to impose rules, but we must also allow them to make mistakes and still give them our loving support.

So when it comes to the world of work, how then do we expect to bring in new work practices without providing support for the staff who are affected? Training, support and care are just as much needed by adults as they are needed by children or plants.

programming for posterity

(OR: how to write programs that can be easily maintained in the future)
I was reading today an article that lamented the skills (or rather the lack of them) exhibited by many who today call themselves programmers. The trouble, said the writer of the article is that programming in some common web languages such as PHP means that even untrained people are writing programs - programs that are later found to be hard to maintain and insecure. I agree. Like most everything else in life, programming requires skill and training, and no small measure of planning.