I do part-time work as a graphic designer, and I've recently taken on a job as a Powerpoint Designer (taking crappily made presentations and making them look professional.) The latest job is for a new software program, and in the presentation the original creators have a slide with FDR and a slide with Einstein. In one slide there is a picture of Einstein with the quote "'Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting the same results.' -Einstein". Then there's Einstein's name written next to his picture which I decided to remove not only because it wasn't balanced with the rest of the slide, but because it's redundant and, I thought, pretty goddamn obvious who Einstein is.
I save the edits and send the latest copy to my boss who immediately asks me why I removed Einstein's name. I told him it was redundant and pretty obvious who Einstein is. He tells me, in absolute seriousness, that not everyone knows who Einstein is and that the name is required so people know that the picture to the left of the quote is the person who said the quote, and not some random eccentric old man I decided to throw into the slide for fuck knows why. My boss also wanted me to do the same for FDR because my boss (as well as the audience for the presentation) might not know who the fuck FDR was. (And implying that he didn't know what FDR did, and that he's sure the people viewing the presentation don't know who FDR was, and that this is normal, expect people to be ignorant, and stop asking questions.)
... This is a presentation for a special software to be used in banks. The people viewing this presentation will be rich, powerful and supposedly affluent bank owners and their staff. People who should already know who the fuck FDR was because he fucking changed the way the economy worked and reformed the bank system. How the hell can you become an important powerful businessman or woman, who owns a bank and NOT KNOW WHO THE FUCK FDR OR EINSTEIN WAS, AND WHY THE FUCK IS THAT OK?!
I know I'm not the brightest crayon in the box, but I majored in art and I know who Jackson Pollack and Duchamp were. And most people here can tell you who Salvador Dali was and have probably never touched a tube of gouache in their life! But how can people get away with being ignorant, why do we let it happen? I'm scared to wonder what would happen if I asked random politicians in D.C. who Lafayette was. I know I'm specifically focusing on the importance of history, which might not always be relevant (i.e. an electrician wouldn't have to know the difference between Tesla and Edison), but if you don't know who Einstein is in this day and age, managing a bank is probably the least of your concerns.
I save the edits and send the latest copy to my boss who immediately asks me why I removed Einstein's name. I told him it was redundant and pretty obvious who Einstein is. He tells me, in absolute seriousness, that not everyone knows who Einstein is and that the name is required so people know that the picture to the left of the quote is the person who said the quote, and not some random eccentric old man I decided to throw into the slide for fuck knows why. My boss also wanted me to do the same for FDR because my boss (as well as the audience for the presentation) might not know who the fuck FDR was. (And implying that he didn't know what FDR did, and that he's sure the people viewing the presentation don't know who FDR was, and that this is normal, expect people to be ignorant, and stop asking questions.)
... This is a presentation for a special software to be used in banks. The people viewing this presentation will be rich, powerful and supposedly affluent bank owners and their staff. People who should already know who the fuck FDR was because he fucking changed the way the economy worked and reformed the bank system. How the hell can you become an important powerful businessman or woman, who owns a bank and NOT KNOW WHO THE FUCK FDR OR EINSTEIN WAS, AND WHY THE FUCK IS THAT OK?!
I know I'm not the brightest crayon in the box, but I majored in art and I know who Jackson Pollack and Duchamp were. And most people here can tell you who Salvador Dali was and have probably never touched a tube of gouache in their life! But how can people get away with being ignorant, why do we let it happen? I'm scared to wonder what would happen if I asked random politicians in D.C. who Lafayette was. I know I'm specifically focusing on the importance of history, which might not always be relevant (i.e. an electrician wouldn't have to know the difference between Tesla and Edison), but if you don't know who Einstein is in this day and age, managing a bank is probably the least of your concerns.