From: Chad W. <ch...@wo...> - 2009-01-29 15:42:23
|
Ken wrote: > Strange how you can spend time trying this and that, and get > nowhere. But, then you sit back and look at the email that you just > sent to 'the list' and immediately the problem stares you right in > the face. James Harper <jam...@be...> wrote: > I've noticed this before too. Many many times. > > I think it's to do with the act of taking the time to write your > problem out in a form that others can understand. Or it could just be > the universe being weird. I recall a story from college where the computer lab technicians were getting tired of stopping by students' computers to help them debug a program or format a document, only to find that once the student started explaining the problem, they solved it immediately themselves. The lab technicians took to keeping a teddy bear at the desk. When a student approached for help, the technician would hand out the teddy bear and tell the student to explain it to the bear. If the bear didn't solve the problem, the student would get the technician's undivided attention. A week after implementing this practice, a second teddy bear appeared to keep up with the demand for help from the students. I've tried Googling for this story, but perhaps it was something local to the U of MN, Duluth campus. :) Chad |