People who are stupid that shouldn't be

ninjarabbi

Do you guys ever have a situation where someone is stupid or ignorant that really shouldn't have the job they have? I will give you an example. Yesterday I was taking the MME (Michigan Merit Exam) and noticed that one of the questions was WRONG. The question asked something about the chernobyl explosion. The problem is that chernobyl did not explode, it had a meltdown. It melted down, it's in the name! Has anyone else here had something like this happen before?

Thaed

According to Wikipedia: "reactor number four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant located in the Soviet Union near Pripyat in Ukraine exploded."

Rym

The question asked something about the chernobyl explosion. The problem is that chernobyl did not explode, it had a meltdown.

Well, there was an explosion first, which blew the top off of the containment vessel. There were several explosions that followed in the course of the meltdown...

Lusankya

I'm not extremely well-versed in Chernobyl, but it was my understanding that the reactor began running too hot, and when they hit the SCRAM, the additional pressure caused by the insertion of the (non-absorbing) tips of the control rods coupled with the abnormally high water pressure from the heat caused a steam explosion. No actual meltdown, just a massive design flaw.

Correct me if I'm wrong though - I'm running off of memory from high school physics

spiritfiend

Do you guys ever have a situation where someone is stupid or ignorant that and really shouldn't have the job they have?

Only every day.

Rym

No actual meltdown, just a massive design flaw.

The core melted and seeped into several interesting and dangerous places, forming a deadly and radioactive glass. For many years, they could not find the bulk of it.

Cremlian

Rym even posted a thing of the day on this subject, look it up ^_^

Lusankya

Rym even posted a thing of the day on this subject, look it up ^_^

I stopped listening and posting a while ago, due to a lack of a commute to listen to podcasts on. I'm still working through the backlog ^-^

TheWhaleShark

Do you guys ever have a situation where someone is stupid or ignorant that really should have the job they have? I will give you an example. Yesterday I was taking the MME (Michigan Merit Exam) and noticed that one of the questions was WRONG. The question asked something about the chernobyl explosion. The problem is that chernobyl did not explode, it had a meltdown. It melted down, it's in the name! Has anyone else here had something like this hapen before?

I work for state government.

I can tell you things that would make you CRY.

EDIT: Example:

Many positions in New York state government are attainable via civil service exams. You sit down and take a test, and that test tells prospective agencies that you are qualified for the job. You're given a rank based on score; the highest 3 scores are canvassed every time a position related to that test is open. Once you accept a position, you're knocked off the list and the process repeats.

So, I was taking the Bacteriologist exam to secure my current position. The question was "Which of these organisms causes the largest number of foodborne illnesses in a year?" Two answers were flat out wrong; the other two were Salmonella and "camphlobacter."

I will point out, at this juncture, that there is no organism called "Camphlobacter." HOWEVER, there is a genus Campylobacter, whose member C. jejuni is the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis annually in the United States. Turns out that they misspelled it on the test, because "Camphlobacter" was the right answer.

Bonus: When the Ph.D. in our lab corrected the state expert on it, she "corrected" it to be wrong again.

Rochelle

I work for state government.

I can tell you things that would make you CRY.

I work for the Government. I can only concur and let out an exasperated sigh when I think about some of the people I work with.

am_dragon

Do you guys ever have a situation where someone is stupid or ignorant that really should have the job they have?

We have a well known (can't think of the word here) mantra(?) at my office "Incompetence is not grounds for dismissal". It proves itself true on a daily basis.

...

I don't work atm. But I do know a person in America who is stupid and shouldn't be running the countryin his position.

kage_rod

I don't work atm. But I do know a person in America who is stupid and shouldn't berunning the countryin his position.

=3 That's what the vote is for, isn't it?