A Paper World

It is often said that people are defined by what is written on paper; at least, what is written about them.

Whether a military commander decides on promoting a subordinate, or a CEO looking through resumes for a position, what is written on paper determines the individual's fate.

A person, in general, is taught to sell themselves to an employer; just like the proverbial deal with the devil, when a person sells their soul.

This is not to say that working for an employer is evil, and all employers are the devil, rather that we have been taught a way to live our lives that is based on paper.

Whether in a business, in a movie script, or a news article, we live our lives, and base our decisions, off of information that was written on paper.

We live in a world of paper. In fact, as trees can be a source of paper, we are surrounding by it.

A resume was originally written on paper, textbooks were written on paper, and business reports were written on paper.

However, while much of this appeared to change in the digital age, the same practice prevailed.

This is, impart, due to the control measures that were put in place.

Therefore, when looking at these objects in the digital space, we still look at two dimensional figures that are based on paper.

Rather than basing our actions around physical and hands-on experience, we base our decisions by what has been written, and what we have read.

This is, impart, because work based on one's hand is considered abhorrent; a skilled trade craft.

On the other hand, what is written does not always translate to reality.

A lack of physical experience can be a great downside, when it comes to completing any task.

Therefore, many businesses include interviews, as part of their hiring process.

Unfortunately, due to resumes and cover letters, hiring managers will often bring preconceived notions to the interview, and have already decided on a candidate, beforehand.

In some ways, you could say that the paper world is a figment of the past, but, in other ways, we never really left it.