I've just been witness to one of the more inane arguments I've seen in some time.

The guy on the computer next to me was looking at job listings, and wanted a definition of "telecommute." While it seems kind of obvious to me, he may have some age-related intechnoracy (patent pending), as he said something to that effect to one of the librarians.

The librarian said she could give him a dictionary to look the word up, but couldn't "interpret" what he was reading. This led the guy to throw a hissy fit (quietly, we are in the library after all) about how it wasn't "interpreting" anything. The librarian was not moved.

At this point the disagreement petered out, the modicum of sound and lack of fury signifying pointlessness.

My thought for the guy: any on-line dictionary is going to have telecommute. If the definition there still isn't clear, write the person who posted as the librarian suggested. True, this may demonstrate that you're not quite the candidate for any job that requires telecommuting, but that may be for the best.

My thought for the librarian: things may have gone better if, rather than saying you couldn't "interpret" the information. That's a little cold/impersonal. Help the guy find a definition, but then stick to the point about contacting the poster for more detail.

Hey, I said it was inane.