Friday, April 8  

Power

Outside a brief childhood episode of believing that she had the supernatural powers of Wonder Woman and that at puberty these powers would blossom, unexpectedly revealing themselves and transforming her instantly into a Linda Carter look alike, sexy exercise suit and all – beyond that short lived belief, Vic doesn’t think of herself as a person who holds any particular power.

power noun 1. The ability or capacity to perform or act effectively. 2. Forcefulness; effectiveness 3. statistics The probability of rejecting the null hypothesis where it is false.

A compliment she recently received has made her wonder whether she does, in fact, have power that she’s not aware of. Someone tells her that she is a “strong and powerful person” which clashes so completely with her self-perception that it really gives her pause for thought.

Is she? Can a person get powerful, empowered, powered up, without knowing about it themselves? Is it possible that she’s walking around all charged with some kind of electrical current (you can see she’s not quite over the “signal” phobia yet) that she doesn’t feel herself?

Of course, there are different types of power:

Job power. Of which, she may have some little bit but it’s by title only and, therefore, pretty useless. She’s meant to be the leader of a small team at her workplace. Vic’s idea of leading usually comes down to canceling meetings that she’s set herself and acknowledging (if not always following) the unspoken rule that leaders have to arrive earlier and leave later than their reports.

Social power. Definitely none. Vic is a shy, transmutable sort of person. The type who would definitely cave to peer pressure. A real go-alonger.

Physical power. Obviously, no. The last time Vic’s bicep was anything approaching “sinewy” isn’t clear in recent memory. Her arms flap in a dishearteningly hereditary Scottish way.

But then, she supposes, there are more ephemeral sorts of power, aren’t there? Effectiveness, forthrightness, organization, empathy. She does have a tendency to cry when she hears about someone else having a really bad time with things. Perhaps not a traditional definition of power.

It could be, she surmises, that her power is more “statistical”. If there is one thing Vic can be counted on to do, that’s to reject a null hypothesis.

(she’s not even sure that’s true, since she doesn’t really know about math either way, but she likes the sound of it)

Vic decides to explore her power to reject what is false.

Taking stock, she commits to beginning her rounds of powerful rejections with her job. She decides, here and now, to find new work. Perhaps something with less power implied in the title and requiring more play from her newfound statistical powers.

Comments:

See, but the power Vic has is the kind that makes people fall in lust/love/serious like (and sometimes the flipside of those coins) with her. She holds a large space in many people's thoughts...a power not to be trifled with. She is not invisible, that's for sure.

# posted by  Anonymous : 3:59 PM

 

Hm. Another vote for power. How weird. Makes me feel like someone who's got hotel reservations in multiple cities at once. V.

# posted by  Vic : 9:40 AM

 

Power is one of those emphemeral things that can manifest itself in so many ways. Those who think it's simply physical (strength or money) are missing the bulk of the point. Power can be the strength to do what needs to be done; it can be the ability to turn heads; it can be the ability to stay silent when all a friend needs is company. If you're thinking about it at all it probably means you have it in one form or another.

# posted by  Woodstock : 1:45 PM

 

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