Unlearning the Preventitive Trauma of Proactivity
I love it when the history of something reveals why it is problematic.
pro•ac•tive or pro-ac•tive (pr½-²k“t¹v) adj. Acting in advance to deal with an expected difficulty; anticipatory: not reactive, but proactive steps to combat terrorism. --pro•ac“tion n. --pro•ac“tive•ly adv.
BUT
http://www.word-detective.com/020501.html suggests that "Proactive" has actually been around since the 1930s as a technical term in psychology, denoting a trauma or complex stemming from an earlier occurrence ("pro" being a Latin prefix meaning, in this case, "before") that makes learning difficult. Our modern "proactive," however, is a completely different word, formed from "pro" in the sense of "forward" attached to the "active" from "reactive." This management-ese "proactive" thus carries the sense of "pushing forward" and first appeared around 1971.
What trauma or complex stemming from an earlier occurrence makes learning difficult such that the meaning of the word itself must be shifted into being the cure for its own dilemma?
It is not a completely different word. Psychologically it contains and illustrates its own origin and consequence - original trauma entirely redefined through use to support the fantasy (and not one without usefulness) that preemption can avoid future trauma. What is not useful is the complete loss in current usage of the traumatic context of the original meaning. Now it is simply management-ese for pushing forward, still carrying the hidden reality of trauma unconsciously.
This needs images, additional examples of applications, and a longer paper. Hmmm....
| posted by Unknown @ 8/28/2004 09:10:00 PM
I love it when the history of something reveals why it is problematic.
pro•ac•tive or pro-ac•tive (pr½-²k“t¹v) adj. Acting in advance to deal with an expected difficulty; anticipatory: not reactive, but proactive steps to combat terrorism. --pro•ac“tion n. --pro•ac“tive•ly adv.
BUT
http://www.word-detective.com/020501.html suggests that "Proactive" has actually been around since the 1930s as a technical term in psychology, denoting a trauma or complex stemming from an earlier occurrence ("pro" being a Latin prefix meaning, in this case, "before") that makes learning difficult. Our modern "proactive," however, is a completely different word, formed from "pro" in the sense of "forward" attached to the "active" from "reactive." This management-ese "proactive" thus carries the sense of "pushing forward" and first appeared around 1971.
What trauma or complex stemming from an earlier occurrence makes learning difficult such that the meaning of the word itself must be shifted into being the cure for its own dilemma?
It is not a completely different word. Psychologically it contains and illustrates its own origin and consequence - original trauma entirely redefined through use to support the fantasy (and not one without usefulness) that preemption can avoid future trauma. What is not useful is the complete loss in current usage of the traumatic context of the original meaning. Now it is simply management-ese for pushing forward, still carrying the hidden reality of trauma unconsciously.
This needs images, additional examples of applications, and a longer paper. Hmmm....
| posted by Unknown @ 8/28/2004 09:10:00 PM
OK. Very well. I'll be up all night writing.
My beloved is in the City at a capoeira Batizado.
Time to go in the kitchen and make myself an encouraging breakfast of two eggs over easy, cooked in the leavings of the excellent bacon and mushrooms which I cook first, sitting in the embrace of two halves of a toasted garlic bagel. Did I mention that meals were a scarament long before the guy in the funny pointed hat said so? Ah yes, and I'll need some excellent tea with honey and goat's milk.
What kind of dilemma is it to suffer from so much bounty? | posted by Unknown @ 8/26/2004 08:29:00 PM
My beloved is in the City at a capoeira Batizado.
Time to go in the kitchen and make myself an encouraging breakfast of two eggs over easy, cooked in the leavings of the excellent bacon and mushrooms which I cook first, sitting in the embrace of two halves of a toasted garlic bagel. Did I mention that meals were a scarament long before the guy in the funny pointed hat said so? Ah yes, and I'll need some excellent tea with honey and goat's milk.
What kind of dilemma is it to suffer from so much bounty? | posted by Unknown @ 8/26/2004 08:29:00 PM
CUSTOMER SERVICE FAVORITES
Adding a line to our existing business cell plan
Adding a line to our existing business cell plan
Ah, ATT finally answered (only 18 minutes on hold! rather than 20 last night). No. Wait. She's gone again to check on something. Do I mind her putting me on hold she asked? Heck no! I've declared a moratorium on whining after all. (10 more minutes).
I've now gone through the whole process of negotiation and purchase of the new phone and line (for only $10/mo - no extra minutes) before finding out that I only have a POBox for Iris and they won't ship there. I hang up with Sales to call Patricia, then Mugwort, then Lucy, then back to trying to get back to my guy. Gone for the day. Going back through the whole entrance process, hoping to pick up my "shopping cart" where we left off...
BUT NOOOOO, REEEEJECTED!!... He disappeared despite giving a direct call back with extension and shopping cart number - and after going through the whole entrance process again and another 30 minutes on and off hold the new service person tells me what he promised is impossible under any circumstances.
What a night.
That sound is not me whining. It's simply time to walk the dog.
Selection Two, my own service oriented response to a friend wanting two new songs on our BDay Bash play list:
We here at THE 80s BDAY BASH have forwarded your music request to the appropriate Customer Esophagus Representative. After we have 4,432,426 further requests for musical selections we will implement our program to respond to the need to create a response system to study the general lack of responsiveness in responsivity systems. After that time we may be able to respond to your request, should you continue to hold. Should you continue to hold at that time, policy dictates that we, then the Responsivity System Evaluation Committee, will forward the matter to the immediate attention of the first available Customer Esophagus Representative. Your time and patronizingage is valuable to us and wewillrespondintheorderyourrequestwasreceived. Shoot me?
| posted by Unknown @ 8/24/2004 09:07:00 PMSelection Two, my own service oriented response to a friend wanting two new songs on our BDay Bash play list:
We here at THE 80s BDAY BASH have forwarded your music request to the appropriate Customer Esophagus Representative. After we have 4,432,426 further requests for musical selections we will implement our program to respond to the need to create a response system to study the general lack of responsiveness in responsivity systems. After that time we may be able to respond to your request, should you continue to hold. Should you continue to hold at that time, policy dictates that we, then the Responsivity System Evaluation Committee, will forward the matter to the immediate attention of the first available Customer Esophagus Representative. Your time and patronizingage is valuable to us and wewillrespondintheorderyourrequestwasreceived. Shoot me?
