This one is about one of our Assistant Professors who left in search of greener pastures, as young people should do and do. We always train people, whether they be resident doctors or newly appointed Assistant Professors. Some of the latter are good when they come to us. Most of them are like the Resident doctors who have just passed M.S., but have not learned the nuances of the subject.
This one was OK. There were a few things that he/she* messed up a little. There was a particular operation that he/she had not understood well, and would not despite my instructions. I had a scientific article with illustrations that would be quite useful to him/her, I thought.
"Take that article from me on your pen drive and study it well" I said.
"OK" he/she said.
A month passed without any action, until the next time the same operation was attempted by him/her with similar confusion as ever. I asked him/her why he/she had not taken the article from me, despite a reminder in between.
"I am worried about virus" he/she said. "Can you not email me the article?"
"Don't worry," I said "I have AVG and Microsoft Security Essentials on my system. If your pen drive has a virus, my antivirus programs will remove it and not let my system get infected."
"Quick Heal is good" he/she said "which I have on my system." Then he/she left. He/she left the institute a few months later, without taking the article from me.
I thought about it a bit over a few days, and one day suddenly realized that he/she was worried about getting a virus from my system, not putting one into my system. I felt like one would if someone suggested that one had a dirty disease. I had built four computers from start, installed Windows innumerable times, installed antivirus software programs on multiple systems after researching on the merits and demerits of different ones, recovered data from pen drives and hard drives of people who had lost their data to viruses, and written two decision making software programs of my own in Visual Basic. After doing so much work, I thought no one would say such a thing about me. I did Google search and compared Quick Heal to the ones I was using. I was assured I was doing the right thing. I did not send him/her the comparative data I compiled, because I knew I could not improve his/her knowledge on antivirus software, just as I could not improve his/her technical knowledge and abilities. Though I have been discouraged, I have not stopped trying to help people. I would have stopped but for the sensible part of me telling me that I had to be principle centered, not people centered, as taught by late Mr. Stephen Covey (Seven Habits of Highly Effective People).
(*: I have used he/she to protect the identity of the person concerned. I cannot say he/she deserves if his/her identity is known to all, because I know I should not be judgmental and condemn anyone.)
This one was OK. There were a few things that he/she* messed up a little. There was a particular operation that he/she had not understood well, and would not despite my instructions. I had a scientific article with illustrations that would be quite useful to him/her, I thought.
"Take that article from me on your pen drive and study it well" I said.
"OK" he/she said.
A month passed without any action, until the next time the same operation was attempted by him/her with similar confusion as ever. I asked him/her why he/she had not taken the article from me, despite a reminder in between.
"I am worried about virus" he/she said. "Can you not email me the article?"
"Don't worry," I said "I have AVG and Microsoft Security Essentials on my system. If your pen drive has a virus, my antivirus programs will remove it and not let my system get infected."
"Quick Heal is good" he/she said "which I have on my system." Then he/she left. He/she left the institute a few months later, without taking the article from me.
I thought about it a bit over a few days, and one day suddenly realized that he/she was worried about getting a virus from my system, not putting one into my system. I felt like one would if someone suggested that one had a dirty disease. I had built four computers from start, installed Windows innumerable times, installed antivirus software programs on multiple systems after researching on the merits and demerits of different ones, recovered data from pen drives and hard drives of people who had lost their data to viruses, and written two decision making software programs of my own in Visual Basic. After doing so much work, I thought no one would say such a thing about me. I did Google search and compared Quick Heal to the ones I was using. I was assured I was doing the right thing. I did not send him/her the comparative data I compiled, because I knew I could not improve his/her knowledge on antivirus software, just as I could not improve his/her technical knowledge and abilities. Though I have been discouraged, I have not stopped trying to help people. I would have stopped but for the sensible part of me telling me that I had to be principle centered, not people centered, as taught by late Mr. Stephen Covey (Seven Habits of Highly Effective People).
(*: I have used he/she to protect the identity of the person concerned. I cannot say he/she deserves if his/her identity is known to all, because I know I should not be judgmental and condemn anyone.)
