Certification ?

[Allan <larsmith () tds net>]

<RANT>

I'm gagging on this "certification" thing.

Certs / Exams are a determiner of MEMORY ability ... the number of related / unrelated details that a person can 
REMEMBER / RECAL in a time-restricted environment.

REAL life not only involves memory of facts but memory of where to LOOK for answers and finding them in what ever 
resource is available.

In my personal life, I repair cars, washing machines, deal with my children, do computer "consulting" work, answer 
tech-support phone calls, build firewalls, manage three properties, etc., etc. and there's NO WAY in (hades) that a 
person can know ALL the answers even MOST of the time in a time-restricted environment ... and that's why theres 
RESOURCES to which a person can turn to for the answers.

REAL LIFE isn't even about knowing all the answers but often includes FINDING answers for the 1st time !!  And doing so 
quickly ... OR ... simply doing so RELIABLY ...

It's about wisdom.  It's not just about "knowledge" but what to do with that knowledge.

Case in point. I worked for an engineering firm. They hired a young fellow who, in high school, was a wizz ... 
graduated at 15 ... went to Clarkson University ... again, a wizz. Graduated with high marks. Went to work for our 
engineering firm and couldn't do ANYTHING right, when it came to PRACTICAL application of what he knew.

Sadly MANY QUALIFIED people are overlooked because of issues of "certification" or "university degree".

It's a fact of life.  It's exacerbated by the fact that now-a-days you can BUY your damn cert and STILL know NOTHING 
about what you're doing, in a PRACTICAL APPLICATION sense !!

There are certified and well degreed people working at firms which have been hacked / digitally vandilized / violated ( 
you fill in the adjective ).  Can you think of a few ?

Cert Smert !!

They're as reliable, PERHAPS, as a "lie-detector" or Graphology ... perhaps ... maybe even as reliable as the 
qualifications of the CIA personnel (plural) who recommended that the USA / UK go into Iraq ... MAYBE ...

</Rant>

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