Some 30 yrs ago, or more, my dad came from the courthouse. He'd been researching. And, one individual, whose work was a topic of this research was a surveyor, that the county clerk said this about:
"O! BM thinks he's Gawd!" spat with some disgust.
This particular surveyor, was a quasi expert in spc, with a HP 41.
He had run so much work, and retraced so many Sections, that he was well known, in this area. But, he worked for a group with real deep pockets. I had tied some of his work back then, and he was consistently shorter than me, with his dimensions.
Well, his was spc, I now know. I did not know it then.
But, I digress.
As a surveyor develops his acumen, and runs (total station) around a 40, (that's an approximate square, roughly 1320' to the side) and he consistently closes with 0.085', and 08" in the angles, and he ties into other surveyor's work, that is "off by 3' in a hundred feet". He tends to develops contempt for his fellow Land Surveyor.
This is the "God Syndrome".
I see it in myself, at times, when I uncover GLO evidence, 18" deep, with a shovel. And, overturn another survey, by a fellow practitioner, that did not find it.
I see it mostly in the pincushion issue though. "My dimple is better than yours" on a cap. Or, a rebar, intended to mark the same spot, and there are 2 pins, a few inches, or feet apart. Especially the classic 0.04', with 2 rebar side by side. And somebody had to carve the caps, to place them that close!.
I once dug out an axle, that was some 20" deep. Came back later, and there was a rebar, with a cap, lying in the hole, with some rocks in the hole. But, I digress again.
This "God Complex" is often seen in the better surveyors. And, sometimes in the ones with a better business acumen.
It polutes our ability to see clearly. It blocks us from seeing, the LEGAL aspect for a survey.
Case in point: A landowner ownes 80 acres. He hires a surveyor, to divide it for his 2 kids. The surveyor is an old man, that is friends with his father. They divide the property, set corners, and CALL the corners that are set the 40 corners, dividing the 80, into 2 pieces. But, all he does is measure 1320' from one end. The whole 80 is sitting EW, roughly 2640 E-W, X 1320 N-S. But, when the whole section is "Properly Retraced" they find that the corners that were set are 20 feet too far east.
Now, the surveyor with the "God Syndrome" might set new corners, while cringing at the "unprofessional work by CJ , the county surveyor"
When, in reality, he should probably yield to the found corners, but re-label them. Rewrite the title, and explain it to them.
I have rejected corners, (now looking back) that I probably should not have.
I should have presented the situation to the client, and recomended a title modification, to hold the old corners, set at the time, when his daddy hired CJ to divide his land.
They have more legal binding, than I have given them. Or, so long as they (both sides) understand, and agree, I can set new corners.
I just need to consider the history of the existing markers, and who owned what, at the time they were set.
All I'm saying is that "surveying is more than the numbers", we should also consider the LEGAL history.
And, go easy on "playing God".
That's not a good place to be.
I'm just musing, on a Saturday afternoon.
Carry on...
N
Nate,
It is all in the advertising...
[MEDIA=youtube]BwGzrT-kFcg[/MEDIA]
DDSM:beer::beer::beer:
OMG!
Dan B. Robison, post: 373335, member: 34 wrote: Nate,
It is all in the advertising...
[MEDIA=youtube]BwGzrT-kFcg[/MEDIA]DDSM:beer::beer::beer:
well that just happened.
Dan B. Robison, post: 373335, member: 34 wrote: Nate,
It is all in the advertising...
[MEDIA=youtube]BwGzrT-kFcg[/MEDIA]DDSM:beer::beer::beer:
What the hell was THAT?
Loyal, post: 373342, member: 228 wrote: What the hell was THAT?
Just wait til you see the SURVEY!
Kent McMillan, post: 373343, member: 3 wrote: Just wait til you see the SURVEY!
What survey?
They spent all their dough on advertising...
o.O
Kent McMillan, post: 373343, member: 3 wrote: Just wait til you see the SURVEY!
ARKANSAS LOG CABIN - THE SURVEY
Lucas Black as Big Help
Carlton Heston as Mr. Fred
Mark Hamill as Nate the Surveyor
D. Bartholomew Robison as the Agent
Coming soon to a Courthouse near you!!
DDSM:beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer:
ARKANSAS LOG CABIN - THE SURVEY
The Sound Track
[MEDIA=youtube]JLvyZJZMYpw[/MEDIA]
I've seen that syndrome in many workplace situations. Not just surveying. I call it "a mother's love" for your own measurements over anybody else's. And guilty as charged. We have to get caught in a few mistakes before we can objectively evsluate our own work.
I've seen a published control map with very high self-opinion. Polaris azimuth, state plane coordinates, 0.001 precisions. But forgot to apply convergence, didn't apply scale factor, and used international feet to convert meters. Home grown software with errors used without sufficient testing. The god complex is hard to shake. It's called maturity.
Loyal, post: 373345, member: 228 wrote: What survey?
They spent all their dough on advertising...
o.O
That WAS the survey.
Dan B. Robison, post: 373335, member: 34 wrote: Nate,
It is all in the advertising...
[MEDIA=youtube]BwGzrT-kFcg[/MEDIA]DDSM:beer::beer::beer:
Wow, 2 bathrooms, and both are in the house with indoor plumbing yet!
As usual, those Hollywood types took some liberties when adapting the novel for the big screen
Nate The Surveyor, post: 373332, member: 291 wrote:
As a surveyor develops his acumen, and runs (total station) around a 40, (that's an approximate square, roughly 1320' to the side) and he consistently closes with 0.085', and 08" in the angles, and he ties into other surveyor's work, that is "off by 3' in a hundred feet". He tends to develops contempt for his fellow Land Surveyor.
This is the "God Syndrome".
N
That's precisely the time when that individual should recognize that there is only One who truly knows where every pin, every monument, every mound of stone etc. is to an infinite number of decimal places and that no matter how hard he tries, he'll never approach that accuracy. Rather than developing contempt for those that can achieve 1% of that accuracy when he sees himself as achieving 2%, he'd be better off just considering how he's been so blessed to get people to pay him to walk this earth, total station in hand, enjoying the wonders around him each day.:-)
rfc, post: 373403, member: 8882 wrote: total station in hand,
Or transit and chain.
Loyal, post: 373345, member: 228 wrote: What survey?
They spent all their dough on advertising...
o.O
nah, you can make that in about 10 minutes on an iphone. seriously.
