Monday, September 09, 2019

Where is the logic?

Strange logic at work in the department of applying for a driver's license. I gave them my American license and the confirmation from the Secretary of State in Illinois that the information on the license was true. The lady confirmed both but said she couldn't accept the license until it was "officially" translated into Polish. I asked her if the confirmation document also had the be translated and she said no. Why does one have to be translated and not the other is my question? This seemed a  little odd to me. I also need to bring my zameldowania although she had it in her computer look-up. Anyway, now I need yet another translation done before I can apply for the test. Oh, what fun! The lady was pleasant to talk with.

Logic! Does it have any place in the world we live in today when you consider all that is happening around the world? " When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead and the White Knight is talking backwards And the Red Queen's off with her head, remember,  what the dormouse said...Feed your head"

Dziwna logika w pracy w dziale ubiegania się o prawo jazdy. Dałem im moją amerykańską licencję i potwierdzenie od Sekretarza Stanu w Illinois, że informacje na licencji były prawdziwe. Pani potwierdziła oba, ale powiedziała, że ​​nie może zaakceptować licencji, dopóki nie zostanie ona „oficjalnie” przetłumaczona na język polski. Zapytałem ją, czy dokument potwierdzający również powinien zostać przetłumaczony, a ona odpowiedziała „nie”. Dlaczego jedno musi być przetłumaczone, a nie drugie to moje pytanie? Wydawało mi się to trochę dziwne. Muszę też przynieść moje zameldowania, chociaż miała je w swoim komputerze. W każdym razie teraz muszę zrobić jeszcze jedno tłumaczenie, zanim będę mógł ubiegać się o test. Och, co za zabawa! Pani z przyjemnością rozmawiała.

Logika! Czy ma jakieś miejsce w świecie, w którym żyjemy dzisiaj, jeśli wziąć pod uwagę wszystko, co dzieje się na całym świecie? „Kiedy logika i proporcje padły niechlujnie martwe, a Biały Rycerz mówi do tyłu, a Czerwona Królowa idzie z głową, pamiętaj, co powiedziała koszatka… Karm swoją głowę”

4 comments:

  1. Oh David... government agencies around the world seem to operate under the same rules.... the less logic the better.

    My first run-in with American military logic was as a young bride overseas in Germany with my husband in 1970. I had taken a pregnancy test at the military hospital in the town we were stationed in ... and asked when I might know the results of it.

    The technician replied... "Oh, we can't tell you. We are only allowed to communicate test results to the sponsor [the soldier sponsoring my presence overseas]."

    Have you ever heard of the husband having to tell the wife if she were pregnant or not? Well, in Wuerzburg, Germany, in 1970... it happened. (And, yes, I was pregnant with our first child.)

    After that experience, whenever I encountered illogical actions/red tape, I remembered that episode and realized that mindthink (or not thinking) continues to permeate many institutions.

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  2. Anonymous12:34 PM

    Hi David and Joan, thanks for your reply for my last comments, thanks for having me on board. re the us licence, cannot agree with your comments, in Rome you do what the Romans do, in Poland they use the Polish language, hard to expect a local person to interpret a English language document, paying 50zl to have it interpreted is no big deal,
    David, am I entitled to vote in the US elections, alas NOT. I am still entitled to observe and comment.

    take care.

    Ps good luck for your driving test, look forward hearing your comments, (only 30% pass there first test)

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  3. Anonymous, I have no problem with translating the license into Polish but I think the confirmation should also have been translated into Polish. That is what I meant. Yes, you are entitled to make comments on the U.S. elections even if you are not a citizen there. It is called FREE SPEECH. Unfortunately, some few readers did not agree with this. I am aware of the %
    of failure on the test :-)

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  4. Lucie, your story is atypical logic in bureaucracy.

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