Klarinet Archive - Posting 000709.txt from 2001/11

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: RE: [kl] re: so you want to do this for a living
Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2001 14:07:55 -0500

On Mon, 26 Nov 2001 00:53:31 -0800 (PST), markbmtl@-----.com said:

> Wow, how strange.
>
> You know, of course it's hard to make a living as an orchestral
> player, and of course the statistics show it's highly unlikely any of
> us won't....but so....what?
>
> I have one dream in my professional life, and that is to play in a
> professional orchestra at least once. So, I should stop because odds
> are I won't? No! I'll work harder so that odds are I will, and so
> that i can BEAT that 9,850 that won't get my job. I'm forever aware
> that odds are I'll end up not doing so well....but it really doesn't
> matter.

Such statistics are of course misleading, as you point out.

There is a very interesting essay by Stephen Jay Gould about his cancer
diagnosis, called "The Median Isn't the Message". You can read it at:

http://www.cancerguide.org/median_not_msg.html

It contains what I think is a very useful realisation in many fields.

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd Tony@-----.uk
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE GMN artist: http://www.gmn.com
tel/fax 01865 553339

... Mental Floss prevents Moral Decay.

---------------------------------------------------------------------