In my case allocation this week was a huge pile of papers (4 packed lever-arch files, plus assorted wallets, folders, etc.).

*sighs*

I hauled it onto my desk this afternoon, and discovered it was a dispute about the fitting of a twin turbo to a performance car and whether or not some other part should also have been fitted at the same time. Party A says it should have been. Party B says it was optional.

*wonders what turbo is, but knows Gilette make a disposable razor that has one*

The lever arch files were full of technical specifications, engineers reports and arguments between various experts engaged by the parties.

*loses will to live*

I decided that probably the first thing I should do is to find out what a turbo actually is.

So I found the manufacturer's website and located the product. There, next to a picture of it (and it's the same one, there's millions of pictures of the damn thing in the file) in big red letters it says "NOTE: For European and Australian Specification vehicles, it is mandatory that the [blah] System be installed."

*startles co-workers by yelling "Wooo!"*

So I phoned Party B and explained why they'll have to pay up. One of my team, who knows all about cars, said that he'd never heard me sound so authoritative about something I know absolutely nothing about. I had to tell him to shut up because I was trying to write the confirmation email to Party B and could feel the words of technical knowledge fleeing my brain with every passing second.

Thing is, this case had been handled up till now by several car-obsessed blokes, who got so bogged down in all the minutae of the engine specs and technical data that they hadn't thought of looking to see if there was a simpler solution to the problem.

But give it to someone who knows nothing about the subject matter - Result!

w00t! I am so relieved. I was dreading having to plough through all that engine stuff.

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"Git down, guurl...g'head, git down!"

That cat is fucking disturbing. :)

Good for you! It is amazing sometimes how someone who knows very little about a subject can more easily cut through extraneous details and find a solution.

That cat was me at 3.15 this afternoon, occhiblu.

His eyes look dead, somehow, like some kind of disco zombie. Either that, or Maury just told him that he's not the father.

..and of course, yay internet!

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Also, he looks like he just escaped from prison. And also like Michael Jackson.

A dead-eyed, prison-escaping Michael Jackson dancing cat.

You get on with your bad self, essexjan!

So why is the exhaust mandatory?

I can only assume that there are noise and exhaust emissions standards, but if the car already has an exhaust that makes the engine conform to these, then is it really mandatory?

I wonder if APS have put this on the website to cover their asses knowing full well that people ignore legal requirements for turbo charged engines.

So why is the exhaust mandatory?

How the blimmin' 'eck would I know, seanyboy?! All I know is that the engine blew up without it.

The internets rawk because they have cats in them.

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So I found the manufacturer's website and located the product. There, next to a picture of it (and it's the same one, there's millions of pictures of the damn thing in the file) in big red letters it says "NOTE: For European and Australian Specification vehicles, it is mandatory that the [blah] System be installed."

Nail. Hammer. Bang.

God bless lateral thinking.

Sometimes it really does take a fresh perspective, from someone who won't get lost in little minutiae.

To be perfectly honest, you probably had an advantage as a woman. Your male colleagues would have been obsessed with making macho points over this case. They wouldn't want to have looked stupid or un-knowledgeable.

You, on the other hand, had no gender imperative to appear knowledgeable on this topic. So you could cut to the heart of the matter and get the answer.

Good work, essexjan!