WHEN I WORKED for another publication, I was one of two resident Unix zealots. I edited all my articles with vi (my compatriot
used Emacs, something we argued about almost daily). I wouldn't accept documents from vendors or authors in Word format, even
though that was the industrywide standard. If I had a job to do, I'd do it in Unix even if it took me twice as long. I was
a man of conviction.
Then high-paying jobs for Unix wizards vanished. Where I lived, Windows was taking over. Because I so despised Windows,
I had never learned anything about it; my religious devotion had relegated me to the bottom of the job market. There's nothing
like the threat of homelessness to force a change in attitude. I switched from missionary to mercenary and never looked back.
After being upbraided by a legitimately religious colleague for my word choice, I jokingly coined a pseudo-scientific term
for this affliction: TAD (technology attachment disorder). TAD is an unshakable, impractical devotion to a brand, platform,
product line, or programming language. It's relatively harmless among the rank and file, but when management is afflicted
the damage can be measured in dollars. It's also contagious -- someone with sufficient political clout can infect an entire
organization.
Anyone who's had TAD can readily spot it in others; the warning signs are unmistakable. When you examine technology options,
do you only gather facts that support the decision you've already made? Do you scoff or tune out when a staffer or vendor
presents a point of view that differs from yours? Do you claim impartiality, yet shrink from a logical, comparative defense
of your position? Are you unwilling to commit dollars or manpower to a technology other than one you know well and have chosen
in the past?
It's hard not to become attached. There is comfort in reducing decisions to simple equations such as "PCs come from Compaq"
and "enterprise software is written in Java." Bosses associate quick decision-making with competence. But when you make choices
from prejudice, you're not just wasting your company's money, you're cheating yourself out of one of the better fringe benefits
of working in IT: the delight of constant discovery and learning. I missed out on five years' worth of fascinating developments
in computing because I filtered out everything that didn't mesh with my Unix philosophy.
It doesn't take much to sustain objectivity. Before you commit to anything, discuss your position with people you know will
disagree, and instead of defending your view, just listen. Later, try to counter their practical objections with facts. If
you can't, don't be afraid to change course.
Fuel your curiosity by constantly putting your hands on technology from many different sources, and make it a policy never
to render an opinion on something you haven't used. Use pilot projects and mini-labs to explore alternatives to long-accepted
practices. If you stay curious and cast a wide net, you'll find that your flexibility and open-mindedness are contagious,
too.
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