Maeda's SIMPLICITY

Ad-am I Am?

Yesterday I was introduced to the word "Adam" (or "Advanced Amateur") by MIT alum Ernie Liang. Ernie leads new business development for Epson and is on the lookout for the next big thing in digital imaging. I think I learned at least four new trendy words from our conversation.

The thing that I like the most about this abbreviation for "Advanced Amateur" is the way you say "adam." You don't say "Adam" as in the name of a boy named Adam. Instead you place a synthetic pause between "ad" and "am." You say "Adam." My interest in the word however stops there. I am uncertain of what the word actually means.

I was an amateur. Now I'm better than the average amateur so now I am an advanced amateur. I'm not a professional yet. I wonder if they have a word like "Prepro" which could mean "Pre-Professional"? When does one stop being just an "Adam" and moves to being "Prepro"?

I think I prefer to be a lifelong amateur. I am.

Charles Hinshaw of Indiana writes, "What is interesting is your assessment regarding meaning. You imply that Amateur and Professional are points on the same conceptual scale (one that would progress from amateur to advanced amateur, and along to advanced professional, presumably) On the surface, this makes sense -- products are positioned along those lines, especially in the realm of software. But the big assumption that unravels the whole thing is that mastery of something is tied to a profession. What if the amateur and professional spectrums exist parallel to one another? (separated by motive or circumstance) Advanced vs. Normal defines the degree to which one has mastered a specific skill. Amateur vs. Professional describes the role that that skill plays within their life. A person can change in one way without affecting the other (if, for example, I was an advanced amateur digital photographer, and quit my job to become a professional digital photographer, my skills would not diminish just because the role that photography plays in my life has changed.) Maybe in an earlier time, we could equate skill with professional practice -- but with a wealth of resources available to master a wide range of skills, that type thinking may be becoming obsolete. Since you have already expressed that this moves beyond your interest in the word, I'll stop there -- you just got me thinking." It's good to think.