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Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Wisdom can Stink

This is a story from my dear significant other:

The company he works for has branches all over the world, which is nifty. The Japanese branch, as a gesture of magnamity and goodwill sent a gift to his local branch - a set of trees purported to encourage wisdom and creative growth.

During the late spring and summer, for whatever reason, these trees give off a pungent aroma of stale urine. Since the company wishes to remain diplomatic (and I'm sure, not pay for the removal of said trees), they remain planted along a walk that the employees all rush past on their various errands.

Conclusion #1: Wisdom smells like pee.

After reflecting for a moment, I had a thought: what better way to try and increase productivity than keeping dawdling to a minimum? Rather than using an iron fist or other crushing tactics, why not use a visually pleasant, subtle deterrent. (The trees are quite pretty to look at.)

Conclusion #2: Someone is much smarter than we give them credit for.

So my thoughts on wisdom - there are subtler ways to get what you want, even if people might think you stink.

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