Pwned

Lately, I've been thinking of this phrase "taking ownership of X". This usually means that you have some responsibility for a task, and you are to treat it with some degree of seriousness.

But where did this phrase come from? I'm a packrat. When I "own" something, I get vaguely dissatisfied with it, and want something better. To take ownership, I'd imagine, would mean that I'd get vaguely dissatisfied and want something better, right?

Of course, the idea is that being the owner, you'd treat it with more respect. For example, if you rent a car, maybe you're more prone to not care how fast you drive. But if you own it, you might think it's your baby, and you don't want a scratch on it. It depends on what you own, right?

Ownership doesn't quite get approximate what is meant. What people mean by "taking ownership" is akin to treating it like your baby. This presumes you actually want your kid to be successful (and happy--let's not forget happy), and will do whatever it takes to achieve this. In reality, many people do not afford this kind of care for their kid, partly because they aren't particularly successful, and sometimes, they have much more mundane reasons for having a kid, such as they were horny one day, or they need kids to help out with the farm.

Ownership may have to do with what you would give up to get what needs to be done. For example, I know some folks, given a long programming project that would require an all-nighter to complete, would simply punt. They value their sleep more than they value their grades. Others would continue to work on it, even if they were tired, even if they were sick, even if they had promised to do something with someone.

That could be considered a form of dedication or pure folly. It might also be considered a form of ownership. You care enough to get the task done, no matter what, and you care to provide a minimum level of quality, which is pretty high.

Ownership is still a strange word for the concept.