Long live criticism?
There is a category of people who have never done anything useful but love to criticize what others do.
Such “friends” think that they are smarter than others and have the right to teach everyone else, giving advice and criticising those who are engaged in truly useful work. One cannot call them harmless and cannot just brush them off, because they are intrusive and annoying.
An effective remedy against them is to offer them to “correct” the discovered flaw. One cannot limit himself to the call “If you criticize, then suggest”, this is not enough. One needs to add, “If you suggest, do it.” Let them show themselves in practice, prove that they are capable of more than just criticising. Will they be able to do something real? Of course, it is easier for them to do nothing than to decide on real action. Responsibility for what has been done or not done lies with the worker, and what can be expected from the “adviser”? None.
Probably, each of us has encountered those who like to point out and prompt. Competent, knowledgeable people, unless one asks them, usually will not prompt anything (I can even guess why). But ignoramuses cannot live without prompting, without directing. What should we do in such cases? We, those who do not advise, but do. From my own experience, I am convinced that it is best to instruct uninvited advisers to correct the shortcoming they see themselves. Yes, that is why smart people try not to prompt: they know what may follow.
So, what! Why not? If prompters do not take on the work of correcting the mistakes of others, then at least they will stop pointing out. They usually do not see anything positive, because, in their opinion, everything is bad and should be changed from the ground up. Whereas someone who is truly concerned about the cause and wants the best, upon seeing a flaw, will first try to find something to praise, will pay attention to the diligence of the workers and only then, in a gentle manner, without offending, will point out what is wrong and how to fix it. With such an attitude, it is easy to distinguish a critic from a kind advisor who helps with a wise word.
Sometimes readers criticise articles, mine as well. It happens that they do not like what is written there. We do not tell them, “Write it yourself”, just as builders or doctors do not tell us, “Build it yourself”, “treat it yourself”. We understand that everyone is doing their own thing and doing it as best they can, perhaps not always perfectly. However, before pointing out their mistakes, it would first be very useful to analyse the work done and put oneself in the place of the author, the specialist. These are elementary things that people are in no hurry to think about.
Any criticism must have grounds. It is not easy to be objective, but in the matter of criticism, I think, this is a prerequisite. And “like” or “dislike” is not a criterion.
Therefore, on the one hand, criticism is a healthy, necessary assessment of some activity (an intelligent person will definitely benefit from it and draw conclusions), but on the other hand, criticism can turn into criticism, which takes time and nerves and does not give results. I would like to wish us the intelligence to accept it when we encounter useful criticism, and exert patience when criticism does not carry any benefit and is based on a subjective attitude towards a person.
