Upon Dilbert

I used to look at Dilbert and think "why the hell do people find this funny?" This marginally drawn cartoon just has these characters walking around and saying barely intelligible things. They have a cat who works in the office, and a dog, and apparently the manager isn't that smart. Fast forward over two years, and while I still do not find it especially funny, it is now because the strip hits far too close to home. The archetypes put forth by the artist are ridiculous, but even more so for the fact that they do exist.

I am thinking about Dilbert this morning because after 2 plus years, I still do not understand how some people live their lives. It seems as though some people derive pleasure from things such as chastizing others. I do not see how correcting a perceived mistake in someone's behavior or actions can move from a job responsibility to a source of enjoyment. Why would someone enjoy this?

Another example? Sure, don't mind if I do.

Consider the following two sentences:

"The meeting will take place on Monday, January 24, in room 302 B, beginning at 8:00 AM."

"This meeting will occur Monday, January 24, 2005, at 8:00 AM, in room 302 B."

Does one sentence contain any more information than the other? Is one clearer than the other? Can you think of any reason for circiling one sentence in red pen, crossing it out, and writing the other sentence as its replacement? If the rest of the memo reads exactly the same, and it has already been printed, why would you exchange one sentence for another sentence with the exact same information. The grammar is correct in both, the sentence length is not disparate enough to make a difference. Is this change the result of ego? Is it a control issue? Could the 5 minutes wasted making this change not be more productively applied?

Thats about it for now. I think I see Dog-bert coming.