My Own Little Dilbert Principle...

 Millions--perhaps billions--of people know Dilbert, a corporate middle-management superhero, a spokesperson for an entire generation. Dilbert is the creation of Scott Adams, who, along with being a brilliant cartoonist and satirist, has garnered a reputation as something other than a comics creator of late.

He's also a published author (even though when his first comic strip was published he became a published author...). One of the many books he's written is entitled, The Dilbert Principle. I remember when it came out and I read a review. What is the Dilbert Principle, you ask?

Adams explained it with an anecdote. He explained how, back in stone age of phone pagers, his pager stopped working. His first thought was a dead battery. He took out the old battery and replaced it with a fresh new battery. Still, no power, no pager. He did what any normal person would do, he drove to the pager store (they did exist...) and presented the problem to the worker. The employee took the pager, opened the battery compartment, took the battery out, flipped the battery over, replaced it in the compartment, restored the cover, turned it on, and gave the now-working pager back to Mr. Adams.

On the humiliating drive home, he considered what had just happened. He was an educated person working on technical projects light years ahead of a pager, and yet, the simplest of problems stumped him. The book goes into greater detail of the Dilbert Principle in action, but I've remembered that little story ever since I read it.

In relaying my experience, I in NO WAY wish to compare myself to Mr. Adams in both education, experience, creativity. No, my story involves car headlights. I found out my headlight was out. Before I did anything, I accessed YouTube (my first mistake...). I watched the first thirty seconds of a video on how to change headlights on my particular car. Got it, I thought (second mistake...). On the next trip into town, we stopped at an auto parts store to buy the replacement. I told the worker my car and what I needed. He courteously found the light. I bought it and we came home.

I popped the hood, took out the old bulb (as instructed...), ripped open the package (my third mistake...), and immediately saw the problem. The new bulb won't fit. I realized the worker made a mistake. I went to another auto parts store (same company...), and told them my problem. They found the right bulb, and swapped it out in the parking lot. I jumped in my car, turned on the lights to bask in the glow of my accomplishment. One problem...

The headlight was still burned out. Unfortunately, I had to go to work. It wasn't until hours later that I replaced the wrong headlight. 

Turns out, the previous worker was right all along.

The next day I went back to the store and explained the problem. I got the right bulb and installed it. I watched the wrong YouTube video. I believed I knew all there was to know. I was wrong...

My own little Dilbert Principle