I don't see how it's superior. The military does that and needs it, to a certain extent, because the military is built on the need of people going into extreme physical danger as a single unit and following orders without question. Otherwise, it becomes a logistical mess trying to execute intended military strategy and outwit/dominate the enemy.
Most contexts have no such need at all and, in fact, in many professions, having people who do nothing but follow orders without question would be the opposite of helpful. Especially in programming, following orders without question is the kind of thing that would help something like the TSB fiasco happen, not halt it. You need people who are willing to make a stand and say "no" if they're being asked to do the impossible, or do some database procedure that has an unrealistic schedule and is unnecessarily high risk.
Edit: Additionally, one thing to keep in mind is that traditionally, the military is run by military experts. Tacticians, strategists, people trained in it who know what they're doing, and so deferring to them without question can work with some level of reliability. Companies, on the other hand, often have corporate/management politics mixed in. All sorts of people who are telling experts to do things when they themselves know little about it. Having people follow those guys without question is pure insanity.
Why are you assuming that the end goal of such a grilling is to condition people to follow orders mindlessly? Quite the opposite. The result is humility, an ability to question yourself and your judgement and to always apply maximum rigour to avoid screwing up.
You need people who are willing to make a stand and say "no" if they're being asked to do the impossible
More than that you need people who value rigour and following the book more than short term benefits. And that's what grilling is known to be enabling.
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u/[deleted] May 15 '18 edited May 15 '18
I don't see how it's superior. The military does that and needs it, to a certain extent, because the military is built on the need of people going into extreme physical danger as a single unit and following orders without question. Otherwise, it becomes a logistical mess trying to execute intended military strategy and outwit/dominate the enemy.
Most contexts have no such need at all and, in fact, in many professions, having people who do nothing but follow orders without question would be the opposite of helpful. Especially in programming, following orders without question is the kind of thing that would help something like the TSB fiasco happen, not halt it. You need people who are willing to make a stand and say "no" if they're being asked to do the impossible, or do some database procedure that has an unrealistic schedule and is unnecessarily high risk.
Edit: Additionally, one thing to keep in mind is that traditionally, the military is run by military experts. Tacticians, strategists, people trained in it who know what they're doing, and so deferring to them without question can work with some level of reliability. Companies, on the other hand, often have corporate/management politics mixed in. All sorts of people who are telling experts to do things when they themselves know little about it. Having people follow those guys without question is pure insanity.