An experienced visitor set a tool on a first-time participant’s workbench.The newcomer looked at the handle and swapped out the support block.The experienced visitor’s block kept sliding.The newcomer’s block stayed put.The experienced visitor stepped closer. “How did you keep yours from moving?”The newcomer pointed to where the block was placed.The experienced visitor tried it the same way. This time the block stayed put.The experienced visitor put the tool back in front of the newcomer. “Could you show me the next one, too?”
Zigong asks why Kong Wenzi received the posthumous title “Wen.” Confucius says he was quick-minded, loved learning, and was never ashamed to ask people of lower rank.
Modern adaptation
An experienced visitor asks a first-time participant how to keep a support block in place and tries it out. Differences in rank in the original become differences in workshop experience.
Takeaway
A newcomer may know a technique even an experienced person hasn’t tried.
Today’s question
Who could teach you something new about a task you already know well?
