The Mind At Work

Mike Rose. The Mind At Work: Valuing the Intelligence of the American Worker

In this the introduction and beginning chapter of his book, Rose discusses the general opinions and assumptions of American society. It is widely believed by Americans that education equals intelligence and that can be seen by our positions in the work force. Many people consider hard labor to be a manually fulfilling job and by no means try and take that away from the worker; yet people do not generally associate that hard work with intelligence. Rose points out that many of the "blue collar" jobs in this country require a lot of mind work as well as the physical. Rose discusses his family of immigrants and what it was like to be raised by them. A waitress for instance may be looked down upon for her low position on the totem pole; yet Rose had the experience of watching his mother at work, noticing things he would never notice, remembering things he would not remember, all the while her arms stacked with plates. Intelligence in this country is based on social status as well as tests such as IQ. Rose points out that IQ tests generally ask many questions that can only be learned through formal education, thus tipping the scales in detriment to the uneducated. Rose quotes sociologist Steven Peter Vallas when talking about the way we classify work. Vallas says that although classifications such as "blue collar" and "white collar"and "mental" versus "manual" labor are sometimes useful, they fail to show the commonalities between the different forms of work. Rose states "these limiting categories reaffirm long standing biases about particular occupations and cause us to miss too much"
I am instantly reminded of a poem by Tom Robbins called "The genius waitress". As a self proclaimed intelligent woman who has done some hard labor in her day, I find the subject of Rose's book quite fascinating. Waitressing is my labor experience and let me tell you, it is a great way to learn a lot about human nature. I can almost guarantee I have more education and intelligence than more than half the people I have ever waited on. Customers in restaurants, for the most part, do not want their waitress to be intelligent, just perfect. While looking down at the waitress (or up I suppose with the intent of looking down) assuming she is the dumbest person on earth, or at least just as dumb as her coworkers; the customer asks questions the waitress is very used to, yet it is assumed they have no answer to. Of course if the waitress forgets to bring the bread or, god forbid the cook over cooks a steak, she is then reprimanded by the customer. All the while, the waitress is thinking the customer is a moron with absolutely no regard for human beings, certainly no respect. I actually had a group of women once who were discussing some world traveling. I commented that their lives sounded like a lot of fun, simply because it is not everyday you here people discussing trips to Africa and Asia in the same year. One woman looked at me with sympathy and said. "You will make it out of the country someday" she may have well said dear at the end of the sentence. Being the argumentative loud mouth I am, I informed her I have not only been out of the country numerous times, I actually lived in Europe for half a year. She of course assumed because of my position, I must not have ever had the opportunity to travel. Oh the feeble minded. Anyway, I have many very intelligent friends in "blue collar" positions, I think Rose's subject is one that should reach the masses.

In the Age of the Smart Machine

Zuboff, Shoshanda. In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power. New York: Basic Books, 1988.

Zuboff discusses the idea of a workforce coping with technology. Zuboff focuses on a paper mill and its employees. The employees of the mill express their concern for the loss of their jobs. The fear of what may come is instilled in the employees. The mill was going through a complete modernization, implementing technology the employees had never seen. The employees feared not only for their jobs but for society as a whole. The swift introduction to this new technology made the employees feel as though the world as they knew it would rapidly become unrecognizable. Many of the workers expressed concern about becoming obsolete. The fear was that the training needed to change their ways would be more time consuming and expensive than the training of new, more technologically advanced people.
This idea that technology will take over our world, leaving no room for humans, is absurd. I realize it is hard to embrace the new. I realize too that in 1988 this stuff was still something out of, well, 1984. The truth is, technology has been around forever. Internet technology is brand new, computer technology is relatively new, but technology itself.... When the cotton gin was invented for example; people lost the job of picking cotton. I am sure many people felt displaced by this invention, but boy did it help advance this country. The industrial revolution made this country what it is today. We have been coping with and adapting to new technology for centuries. Charles Darwin gave us the idea of survival of the fittest. Evolution weeding out the weak, unnecessary elements of humanity, I don't think he meant Humans becoming obsolete, but maybe humans unwilling to adapt!

A little info about me

I am 27 years old. I grew up here in Michigan, lived in Colorado for a bit. I am a great cook, and I love to do it. I am very political. I love a good argument! I am a Liberal, maybe even one of those annoying ones that listens to Air America Radio! I love music. Most of the music I enjoy will not be found on the radio. My i pod has everything from Mos Def to Etta James. I just appreciate good music no matter the genre. I have a great family. Four great parents, three siblings all of whom I am very close to. It is nice to be close to them again. I guess that is enough for now!