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| (Image from very well mind) |
We used what’s called a “learning trap.” When we grown-ups try something new, from oysters to opera, and get a bad result, we usually won’t try it again... If we quickly conclude that all oysters and operas are indigestible, and reject them ever after, we will never learn that the world is more complicated than that. A stale clam or lame Aida may keep us from ever discovering the delights of a sparkling Belon oyster or a scintillating Magic Flute.The grown-ups were less willing to experiment because they did not want to lose what they had, while the children were more willing to sacrifice their possessions for knowledge. (One can't over-generalize from this experiment, however, because anyone who has any experience with children knows that they often will fight very fiercely over toys and desired foodstuffs.)
When you give 4- and 5-year-olds exactly the same problem, they behave very differently. They are irresistibly drawn to see what the new blocks will do, even though they love the stars and know that they risk losing them.
But just as grown-up prudence may have drawbacks, childhood curiosity has advantages. Children gathered much more evidence than the adults and were much better at learning. Most of the children did figure out the right rule. However, they earned fewer stars than the grown-ups.
Almost always dismissing ideas because of similarities to things that have failed in the past, I have to fight against the tendency to fall into the Learning Trap. At the same time there is much truth in the quote misattributed to Albert Einstein: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” As winter approaches, I have less time to waste on repeating mistakes.
Wisdom is knowing when people, situations, objects, and ideas are fundamentally the same..or different.
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