Perhaps It's Not So Obvious

...what we take for granted

Instead of talking about the abstractions of the work world, I once went into a special needs class and spoke about what many people might consider obvious. Standing by the teacher’s desk, I started discussing how this desk got here.

What was the desk made of? Metal? Wood? Who designed it? Who shaped the raw material into useful pieces and components? Who assembled the desk? What did all the materials and labor cost? How much was the desk sold for? Where was the desk sold? In a catalog or online? Who designed the catalog or built the website that displayed the desk? Once the desk was purchased, how did it get to this classroom? Who packed it at the factory? What truck delivered it, and how did they know how to get to this classroom? Was the desk completely assembled when it got to the school, or did someone have to unpack it, slide in the drawers, and attach drawer handles? 

Lots of steps and jobs go into making the incredible array of products that we take for granted in the modern world. It’s good to step back and make the complexity of this world more understandable and appreciated by everyone. Perhaps it might even make them consider their possible role in making a useful product.

You can do this exercise anywhere. How did the lettuce in the produce department of the local supermarket get there? Who neatly stacked that attractive display of sweaters at the department store? What are the steps in making a tasty quarter-pounder at McD? Who decides what shelf on which to stack the toothpaste packages at CVS?

Concrete examples are wonderful vehicles for bringing abstractions within the grasp of many.

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