Once upon a time, a forest where some pigs lived, caught on fire and
all the pigs were roasted. People, who at that time were in the habit of
eating raw meat only, tasted the roasted pigs and found them delicious.
From that time on, whenever men wanted roasted pork they set a forest
on fire.
Due to the many bad points of "the
system," complaints grew at an increasing rate, as the system expanded
to involve more and more people. It was obvious that "the system" should
be drastically changed.
Thus every year there were any number of conventions, and congresses,
and a considerable amount of time and effort was spent on research to
find a solution. But apparently no way of improving the system was ever
found, for the next year and the year after and the year after that
there were once more conventions and congresses and conferences. And
this went on and on and on...
Those who were experts on the subject
put down the failure of the system to a lack of discipline on the part
of the pigs, who would not stay where they should in the forests; or to
the inconstant nature of fire, which was hard to control; or to the
trees, which were too green to burn well; or the dampness of the earth;
or the official method of setting the woods on fire or....or....
There were men who worked at setting the
woods on fire (firemen). Some were specialists in setting fires by
night, others by day. There were also the wind specialists, the
anemotechnicians. There were huge
compounds to keep the pigs in, before the fire broke out in the forest,
and new methods were being tested on how to let the pigs out at just the
right moment. There were technicians in pig feeding, experts in
building pig pens, professors in charge of training experts in pig pen
construction, universities that prepared professors to be in charge of
training experts in pig pen construction, research specialists who
bequeathed their discoveries to
the universities that prepared professors to be in charge of training
experts in pig pen construction, and...
One day a fireman named
John Commonsense said that the problem was really very simple and easily
solved. Only four steps need to be followed: (1) the chosen pig had to
be killed, (2) cleaned, (3) placed in the proper utensil, and (4) placed
over the fire so that it would be cooked by the effect of the heat and
not by the effect of the flames.
The director general of roasting
himself came to hear of this Commonsense proposal, and sent for John
Commonsense. He asked what Commonsense had to say about the problem, and
after hearing the four point idea he said:
"What you say is
absolutely right--in theory, but it won't work in practice. It's
wasteful. What would we do with our technicians, for instance?"
"I don't know," answered John.
"Or the specialists in seeds, in timber? And the builders of
seven-story pig pens, now equipped with new cleaning machines and
automatic scenters?"
"I don't know."
"Can't you see that
yours is not the solution we need? Don't you know that if everything was
as simple as all that, then the problem would have been solved long ago
by our specialists? Tell me, where are the authorities who support your
suggestion? Who are the authors who say what you say? Do you think i
can tell the engineers in the fire division that it is only a question
of using embers without a flame?And what shall be done with the forests
that are ready to be burned - forests of the right kind of trees needed
to produce the right kind of fire, trees that have neither fruit, nor
leaves enough for shade, so that they are good only for burning? What
shall be done with them?
Tell me!"
"I don't know."
What you must bring, are realistic
solutions, methods to train better wind technicians; to make pig sties
eight stories high or more, instead of the seven stories we now have. We
have to improve what we
have; we cannot ignore history. So bring me a plan, for example, that
will show me how to design the crucial experiment which will yield a
solution to the problem of roast reform. That is what we need. You are
lacking in good judgement, Commonsense! Tell me, if your plan is
adopted, what would I do with such experts as the president of the
committee to study the integral use of the remnants of the ex-forests?"
"I'm really perplexed," said John.
"Well, now, since you know what the
problem is, don't go around telling everybody you can fix everything.
You must realize the problem is serious and complicated; it is not so
simple as you had
supposed it to be. An outsider says, "I can fix everything."
But you have to be inside to know the problems and the difficulties.
Now, just between you and me, I advise you not mention your idea to
anyone, for your own good, because I understand your plan. But, you
know, you may come across another boss not so capable of understanding
as I am. You know what that's like, don't you, Eh?"
Poor John
Commonsense didn't utter a word. Without so much as saying goodbye,
stupefied with fright and puzzled by the barriers put in front of him,
he went away and was never seen again.
It was never known where he went. That
is why it is often said that when it comes to reforming the system,
Commonsense is missing.
- Anonymous
