Reverse Running commentary
M
odel Railroad
Hobbyist
has this
name because we
want to always remember
the hobbyist. Yes, the hobby
is also about “the stuff”, the
models we build and collect.
But what makes the hobby
the most rewarding is the
people side, and sharing the
hobby with others.
We pursue a hobby because
it’s a passion that we’re willing to devote some significant
free time to. And as a passion, we can also have passion-
ate opinions about how to best pursue our beloved hobby. It
shouldn’t surprise us that we’ll also encounter some passion-
ate disagreements now and then when talking about the hob-
by, which these days includes places like online forums.
Once in a while, someone with a contrary view shows up and
then people may get worked up about the nay-sayer’s view-
point. While nobody likes conflict, we need to realize these so-
called devil’s advocates can lead to superior solutions.
My favorite illustration of this comes from a team interaction
study done many years ago.
In this study, six teams were formed to review some problems
and produce solutions. A panel of judges would determine
which team provided the best solution to each problem.
Reverse Running: Stepping outside the box with a contrary view
by Joe Fugate
The devil’s advocate
MRH-May 2014
