[Sigia-l] moving beyond first principles: how?

[Richard_Dalton at vanguard.com]

Ok - i'll bite.

"Listera" wrote:
> > I very much doubt that interior designers or general contractors call
> > themselves "architects" or vice versa, ditto with the Medical 
profession,
> > ditto with the majority of the IT industry, the list goes on.
>
> Not true. There are many architects doing interior design.

But I bet they realize they're doing "interior design" and don't call it 
"architecture".

> There are gazillion  buildings around the world done almost entirely by 
contractors
> without the benefit of an architect.

But I bet the contractors don't call themselves "architects" in the pub at 
the end of the day and i'll bet they recognize that the plans they're 
working from have been "architected" at some point.

> There are many non-MDs giving medical care.

But I bet they don't call themselves "doctors" (the legal ones anyway).

> Some professions are licensed, some aren't.

I don't care about licensing, I care about advancing the knowledge of the 
field and the ability to add value in a business environment. Both of 
those, in my opinion, require more definition of the role.

> If you want to license IA, come out and say it. Short of that, we don't 
need
> no stinkin' definition. From programmers to writers to designers to
> musicians, many professions do just fine with a "definition".

I presume you mean "without" not "with" a defintion. In any case, 3 of the 
4 professions above (programmer, writer and musician) are quite well 
defined - to such an extent that within that "profession" there are 
sub-roles (programmer breaks down into client-server, netcentric, 
main-frame, etc, etc; writer breaks down into writer, editor, etc; 
musician breaks down into bandmember, session musician, singer, guitarist, 
drummer, etc).

In addition these professions are well known - ask someone to describe 
what they are and why they're needed and they'll come fairly close. There 
is no chance that someone could describe "Information Architecture" and 
why its needed accurately and until at least some people can (i.e. the 
people who wear the suits and pay the money) it won't be taken seriously.

I'd like to pose a question back to you Listera (and others who feel the 
same way you do) - why don't you want a definition? Why do you think it 
will hurt rather than help?

 - Richard Dalton