Party excess this time of year, but it's also a liberating period when one can practice all one's vices -- gluttony, alcohol abuse, and sleeping late -- with the knowledge that repentance is nigh on New Year's Day. Resolutions to eat right, exercise, and save money and/or the environment/the world provide the antidotal whiplash to holiday blowouts. I figure it's the ying and yang way to keep people in check for the rest of the year.
Today I met a former social worker who said she was so burned out with helping down-and-out folk she was going to become a life coach. To me, a life coach is a social worker for the upper middle class, but I didn't tell her that. Instead, I thought of how useless a profession social worker is -- even the description hearks back to a more caring society, when the notion of finding a job and working was considered the ultimate end...until death.
Other professions that I think will or have already disappeared within the next few years are these: customer service representative (mostly replaced by number-activated robots); bridge toll collectors (smart card activated); auto mechanics (automated); television repair person (do these still exist?); pharmacist (automated); parking meter money collector (smart card activated); supermarket cashiers (self-checkouts); and receptionists (robots).
I'm hoping programmers will disappear too because there won't be a need for anyone to write code anymore: everytime you need a software program, you'll search a software database and an intelligent cherrypicker will assemble a custom program for you.
Professions I just wish didn't exist then, now and forever are monks, nuns, priests, policemen, soldiers, high school vice principals, animal psychologists, prison guards, and executioners.
Congratulations, you have an "unedited voice of a person."
Posted by: Dave Winer | January 01, 2007 at 06:07 PM
http://www.scripting.com/2007/01/01.html#theUneditedVoiceOfAPerson
Posted by: Dave Winer | January 01, 2007 at 06:07 PM
Why don't you want monks or nuns to exist?
Posted by: Joe W. | January 02, 2007 at 07:33 AM
Darn those monks and nuns for devoting their lives to quiet introspection and/or helping people!
Posted by: Father | January 08, 2007 at 07:55 AM