The Art of Criticising (Case Study)

When is criticism appreciated or will it ever be appreciated? Most people cannot take criticism, while the rest don't even know that it is a criticism. The writer is one of those. So, how does one know that he/she is being criticised?

Let's take a look at an actual case study which happened at the workplace: The Chair issue.

A complainant tells the authorities that the chair isn't suitable for her height (and this person is an extremely tall person who needs a high chair). Refer to some research about the relationship between chair, height and weight of a person. However, the authorities take it sensitively, assuming that the complainant is being insensitive to others for using the term "your sick child" to mean the person's sick child. (FYI, the complainant is "sick" in the back and neck due to prolong sitting on the current chair).

Some people are so shallow that they cannot differentiate between an analogy and a direct,personal attack. And the war goes on and on and on in the workplace, all because of The Chair Issue.

The worst part of the comment is "I have been sitting on chairs for many years in so and so company, and I don't feel the pain at all." Well, Wake Up and Smell The Flowers (The Writer's favourite line) because this person is comparing his "average" size with the average chair he is sitting in. Guess who the person is??

In this case, the writer chose to keep quiet and laugh at the funny explanation given by the authority. The "linkage" is proven to be weak. So, sometimes, it is good to accept criticism...and keep quiet for, he who laughs last has the best laugh.

In Critical Thinking, both the refutations are irrelevant.
1. The "sick child" does not refer to the immediate person's sick child. Therefore, a demand for apology was never met. Fellow "educated" workers in the office could only watch and give a wry smile at the sillyness.
2. Using "himself" as a yardstick to show to others that there is no problem sitting on average chair is obviously wrong, for the person cannot even be classified as a "yardstick." Again, the sillyness is proven for the second time.

The moral of the story is Keep Quiet and Laugh at the Situation.
William Shakespeare has always said, "The World is a Stage."

This is the God's Art of Criticising, where criticism does not require language but a criticism from a psychological point of view.