Friday, December 17, 2004

Apprentice wannabe Jenn M

I watched the excessively long, overdrawn Apprentice finale last night. For a moment there, I was deathly afraid that Trump would actually pick Jenn as his new apprentice. Thankfully, he picked Kelly. Kelly isn't too popular, and a lot of viewers hate his supposed smugness, but he's a darned sight better than Jenn. Heck, I never really sensed the smugness of which they speak, but perhaps I just haven't been paying close enough attention. (I tend to exercise, eat or do computer work while watching TV, since I can't abide the idea of being idle in front of the tube.)

Jenn's worst moment, as far as I'm concerned, was when she stole credit for Ivana's wheel-o-jeans idea. Some woudl dispute that, but I think it's pretty obvious, and her teammates certainly interpreted things that way. Even Trump agreed, based on his voiceovers (which suggested that he was disinclined to hire her).

Still, Jenn has her defenders, and some steadfastly deny that she stole Ivana's idea. (One vocal example is some person named "RubyStreak" on the Straight Dope Message Board.) Personally, I think they're fooling themselves. Sure, Ivana might not have said, "This was my idea! I thought of it!" but her actions clearly implied that -- intentionally or not. Some representative from Levi Strauss asked how the team came up with the wheel idea, and Jenn jumped right in with the answer.

What wrong with that, you might ask? Quite simply, Jenn DIDN'T know how they arrived at that idea. Only the person who came up with the idea (Ivana) could possibly know, unless she shared that information with someone else. Kevin clearly understood that, and so he stated that Jenn stole Ivana's credit away.

What's more, Jenn's teammates repeatedly pointed out that Jenn simply did not grasp the concept of the jeans wheel! How can she claim to know how this idea was arrived at, when she didn't understand the concept at all (not until it was finally created, that is)? Any attempt to explaint hat away is mere sophistry.

And even if that weren't true, she should have still deferred to her teammate. She could have simply said, "The credit for that idea goes to Ivana. Perhaps she can explain." That would not have made her look weak in anyone's eyes, and it would have made her come across as a team player who can give credit where it is due.

I noted that several people on the SDMB made that point, and I must agree with them. I don't understand why this RubyStreak character doesn't grasp that. Strange.