>>I'll ask why things on the list are that way, and how they got to be that way. I'm trying to establish credibility as someone who's genuinely curious and empathetic, who's patient, and who respects the expertise of my coworkers. That's the reputation that's going to let me make changes later.
Seems like an excellent corollary to Chesterton's Fence, about someone who comes upon a fence they want to remove:
"If you don't see the use of it, I certainly won't let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it"
Or, more explicitly: "Although this looks out of place, we do best to assume that those who came before us were intelligent, and there is a reason for it. That reason may be obsolete, but it must be accounted for or we'll simply repeat a mistake."
Seems like an excellent corollary to Chesterton's Fence, about someone who comes upon a fence they want to remove:
"If you don't see the use of it, I certainly won't let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it"
Or, more explicitly: "Although this looks out of place, we do best to assume that those who came before us were intelligent, and there is a reason for it. That reason may be obsolete, but it must be accounted for or we'll simply repeat a mistake."