ABSTRACT
I was first alerted to the phenomenon I sketch here by an incident in which I was a participant. The episode was not taped; I noticed the key occurrence when it happened in the course of the interaction, a meeting (“job interview” would probably be the more accurate term) with the Vice Chancellor of a small New England university in the early 1970s. After the end of the interview, I wrote a note about what I had noticed on-you won’t believe this-the back of an envelope.1 Here’s the note:
Talking to Vice Chancellor; he tells about an administration report that slams some departments and the trouble to be expected when the report becomes public. It is set up for “the shit will hit the fan,” but he censors it. Still, it’s “in his brain,” as witnessed by: a few moments later, replying to a suggestion that it not be made public, he says “it’s already in the fan.”
