Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

I often heard “it is obvious to the casual observer” in grad school. I even read it a few times. Guess what? That is not a true statement.

I used to hear that in grad school, “It is obvious to the casual observer.” That was sort of a joke when we were looking at something that none of us students understood. Sometimes, the professor wasn’t joking: he actually thought we should see the answer without any explanation.

Graduate school is not the real world. The room is full of students who are anxious to impress and please the professor. The professor is being paid a salary no matter how much or little learning occurs.

The real world is certainly different. If I understand something, I can assume that I am in a tiny minority. My brilliant idea or product or service – it – is not obvious to the casual observer. I need to to explain it. If I cannot explain it to the casual observer, none of those casual observers will buy my product or service.

This explaining is usually called “able to communicate effectively in both the written and spoken word.” Many students understand neither the need nor the value of that ability to communicate. That is because they have spent several years in that crowd of people wanting to impress and please that one person standing at the chalk board.