First - they are still around - these days it seems: making superb one-offs (of lots of things) for the Yuppie class. (I guess that overlaps upper-Middle and Elite?). As with $200 dinners by $1M chefs. But overall, of course there are fewer and fewer.

I notice this particularly re home work (not homework!). Many can sort-of install electrical fixtures for ex., but have none of the basic comprehension of Ohm's law, a bit of AC and DC principles. Some little thing is amiss: they can't even R&R sometimes. Surely couldn't create a "switch diagram" to make some small alteration. [These not needed, allowed in my house BTW]

'Specialization' - most obvious in the MD Trade, but becoming apparent more and more as businesses morph into 'bizness' - means that fewer have anything like a liberal education and act accordingly dull -while pretending 'chipper'? Allopathic MDs, with rare exception - have *no idea* about the many other approaches to 'health' worldwide, and often do not grok what it means to boast, "We Treat Symptoms!"

Maybe a similar 'allopathy' occurs with 'consultant specialists' in bizness: they are being called in because: none of the present local Elite plans to stay very long, just want a parachute - and know pretty little about the intricacies of that overall business! (How Else explain: M$ hegemony ??)

Anyway.. I don't see how 'we' can overcome the lead-time problem for training *competent* people - without some rilly Bad times coming. Those BTW will be the times when your 'maturity' shall take on a new cachet: "hey This guy grew up when they were still really Teaching stuff! Heh - he can even spel. And multiply without a calculator!!"



Ashton