Here we have a classic case of denial, prominently displayed in a recent letter to the editor of Network Computing magazine.

"I agree that globalization of the IT profession is 'fruitless to resist.' I am educating my 19-year-old son about globalization and its effects.

The result? My son has changed his mind about pursuing a degree in MIS/CS. He is now looking for a career that he will not only find fulfilling, but also be in control of and able to hold on to!"

He misses the point entirely. At the beginning, I thought he really had it, but then he completely lost it at the end.

There is a certain naïveté in the notion that this phenomenon is somehow unique to the "IT profession" (whatever that is). That he still believes there exist jobs that are both worth having and amenable to being "held on to" is clear evidence of his denial.

Would you care to venture a guess as to the industry in which the letter writer works? You'll have to follow the link to find out. I found this last tidbit particularly telling, yet also sad.

I am inclined to go digging through the dead-tree archives of Atlantic Monthly and The Economist in search of equivalent letters to the editor from the late nineteenth century.

I could also post a link to a copy of Shirley Bassey singing "History Repeating", but I suspect that mentioning two songs from Decksandrumsandrockandroll in one day could risk making this weblog appear to be repeating itself.