Sunday, November 30, 2003

Selection, England, 1958. "There are, admittedly, some initial steps by which the total may be reduced. The formula 'Reject everyone over 50 or under 20 plus everyone who is Irish' is now universally used..." -- C. Northcote Parkinson, Parkinson's Law.
He's being funny, of course. But I doubt he was trying to be all that shocking. Compare the antisemitic bit on p71, if you have a copy of the book to hand.
[Parkinson's Law, by C. Northcote Parkinson, John Murray, 1958. Suffers somewhat from the fact that its best gags are now proverbs.]

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