Knowledge is power

For the umpteenth time today somebody's said: "you don't expect them to actually tell us about that do you?" If it's not pay and grading it's the current status of one or other sets of boxes or the timing of the moving of libraries or the names and details of new members of staff who seem to think that we'd have sorted out their pay codes, payroll numbers and/or access to the network, email and the internet before they arrive at work and not some time in week two. It occurs to me to worry about the ethical issues arising from the mind-reading powers it is assumed that we must have.

"Ooh yes," says Betty. "We might find out something we shouldn't know about."

"Or even worse something that we should know about!"

I offer to buy some Bacofoil so that we can fashion hats to deaden our powers of telepathy so that we don't accidentally intrude unbidden into the minds of managers.