Stupid Is As Stupid Does

“Always you have to contend with the stupidity of men.” - Thoreau

Quite a few years ago, I freelanced as a software developer.  I was deemed a "contractor" or "consultant".  One time, I was hired by a major defense company (which shall remain nameless) known for having a lot of PhDs and top-notch research and development capabilities.  A so-called think-tank.  I was brought in to assist with the development of an accounting system for the U.S. Navy.  The system was to allow the Navy to allocate money that they receive each year from the U.S. government's budget to all of the different cost centers within the Navy from the top-down.  It was to have accounting spreadsheet and reporting capabilities in addition to allocation functions to all of the different departments of the Navy.

I was tasked with developing some accounting spreadsheets and reports as part of the system.  I was told that my software could utilize the spreadsheet software that another hired-hand on the team had been working on for several months.  There were thousands of lines of computer code that he had been spewing out for months.  When I looked at the software that the man had written, I found it to be woefully inadequate for what the Navy wanted.  It was also poorly written, and hadn't been properly documented making it nearly impossible to work with.

After pouring over it for a while trying to figure it out and several failed attempts at integrating it into my work, I got very disgusted and threw up my hands in surrender.  I said to myself, "There's got to be something better than this out there somewhere."  So I did some quick searching on Google and immediately came across a company that made a spreadsheet product that could easily be integrated into the system. The company also made other things that we could utilize.  I ordered a free trial version and started working with it immediately.  It was perfect for our needs and even surpassed them.  I was thrilled with it and the company that made it was so thrilled that they sent their local sales-rep to visit me.  He offered us a huge discount making the cost of the product just a few hundred dollars.  He also gave us the other things we needed for free.  

The defense contractor had been paying  a man ten's of thousands of dollars for several months to develop something that they could have purchased off-the-shelf for a few hundred dollars and which was far superior to what the man had been writing.  The man was either too dumb to search for an existing product or didn't care because he was being paid to essentially reinvent the wheel.  You can't make this stuff up.  To this day, whenever I think about it, I chuckle to myself and smile in bewilderment.  A perfect example of, "Stupid is as stupid does ..."

Author's Note

“As if there were safety in stupidity alone.” - Thoreau

Reviews

[emmajoy]

Bet Thoreau didn't quite inspire you with this story! Or did he? Had a feeling that the serious content was going to lead to something.. and at the end, went, 'YESSS!' You really bit into the sort of goings-on of big business, distorted thought processes, plus, the disgusting waste of cash - seems pandemic!

[Pete]

Lol. even my beloved mr. "t" often remarked about the foolishness of man and his institutions,
read moreLol. even my beloved mr. "t" often remarked about the foolishness of man and his institutions,
this one solely from my own real-life experience.
incomprehensible but true my master poetess friend. blessings your way ... :)

[Pete]

although this one from my own personal experience. thank you for stopping in my dear master poetess friend. blessing your way ... :)

[andrew mitchell]

Fascinating story Pete,reminds me of politicians wasting our money getting expensive doesn’t work ideas rather than a cheap no brainer that works.

[Pete]

indeed andrew. 'tis easy to be generous with other people's hard-earned money when you're the recipient apparently no need to think too hard either ... :)

[Onlyme]

Pete great example of rich powerful establishements being daft and careless with money and power. Not surpised at all. Made me lol.

[Pete]

as i said, you can't make this stuff up, Lol. thank you Dawn! ... :)