The Most Prestigious Profession

Back in my undergraduate days I took part in a classroom project to demonstrate the difference between our own opinions and groupthink. We were each given a list of about twenty occupations or professions and asked to rank them first to last in terms of their prestige. Doctor was on the list; plumber was on the list; lawyer was on the list. Even though I was headed for law school at the time and was fully aware that being a lawyer carries a phantom prestige, for me the clear choice--the most prestigious profession--was Newspaper Columnist. I marked my paper accordingly.

The next step was to meet in groups and to collaborate on ranking the occupations on the list. I was shocked to learn that none of the members in my group thought that Newspaper Columnists basked in prestige. As someone who started each day by reading the daily paper, I defended my opinion by saying, "But every day they own a little piece of the brain of thousands of people." Very valuable real estate indeed. However, my group found my argument unpersuasive.

The exercise was fascinating to me and it confirmed what I already knew: I am not a mainstream thinker.