More on individuality

There are consequences and costs to recognizing workers as individuals. There are many benefits too.

One of the things that bother me is that people who are outside the norm get treated so badly. I read an article today that a man who was 6' 7" was buried with his legs cut off so he could fit into a standard size coffin. As a fairly large person I can personally attest to the cost of large clothing. Tall, large, or small people have a great deal of trouble even getting around in the world, let alone working in it. All because we design for the average and ignore the individuals.

Along a different track, bathrooms are set up for men and women. Not because the plumbing is that different but because of sexual attraction and most people are heterosexual. The whole concept denies the very existence of gay men and lesbian women. Or hermaphrodites for that matter. Again, we have designed for the average and ignored the individuals.

The cost of building to accommodate people of all shapes, sizes, attitudes, physical abilities, phobias, and orientations would be high. But it is a cost that society should bear to gain the benefits of the individual.

Many of our greatest achievers have been outside the norm. The people who are most likely to think outside the box are also the most likely to live outside the box. Great minds can be trapped in destroyed bodies. If that great mind can't get to work because the office building doesn't accommodate wheelchairs society will lose the work of a genius over the cost of a ramp. If that great mind can't find work because people without social skills can't get past the interview stage then society will lose the work of a genius over a flawed screening process.

I have worked with a quite a few people over the last 30 years, and have worked on a lot of projects. When it comes down to getting things done I would much rather work with a team of people that have any sort of "unusual" trait you can think of but get things done than a team of people that get along well together but are clueless on how to solve a problem they haven't encountered before.