A Teachable Moment?

[slowmover]

[jamesqf]

"For 'tis the sport to have the engineer
Hoist with his own petard:"

The things you see when you don't have a video camera handy :-)

[shovel]

My first impulse used to be some tinge of sadistic pleasure when someone else takes a dive, but I've come to regret that first impulse and avoid it entirely these days.

I want desperately for everyone to actually learn from their errors - to a greater extent I wish everyone (myself included) would become more imaginative & more able to imagine possible negative outcomes before an error even occurs. By imagining bad outcomes, we can avoid them and direct ourselves to the best ones.

Children must at some point experience fire first-hand, but that's a virtually guaranteed learning experience the first time. When an adult makes a bonehead mistake they should have outgrown in adolescence I hope they learn, but I also wonder if the reason they're still making that mistake is because they lack the capacity to learn.

I'm not above making mistakes.. damn I try not to. But I try to be above taking pleasure in the mistakes of others - you're right Frank - we should try to learn from this and consider ways to remind those around us of how carelessness can cost property and lives. Safety and efficiency are lifestyles, not just acts.

[nemo]

Originally Posted by shovel

I want desperately for everyone to actually learn from their errors - to a greater extent I wish everyone (myself included) would become more imaginative & more able to imagine possible negative outcomes before an error even occurs. By imagining bad outcomes, we can avoid them and direct ourselves to the best ones.

If we spend all our time imagining what could go wrong we would never try anything, balance is important.

Originally Posted by shovel

Children must at some point experience fire first-hand, but that's a virtually guaranteed learning experience the first time. When an adult makes a bonehead mistake they should have outgrown in adolescence I hope they learn, but I also wonder if the reason they're still making that mistake is because they lack the capacity to learn.

More likely they are or were insulated from consequences of their actions.

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by nemo

More likely they are or were insulated from consequences of their actions.

Kind of related I am in a dispute with Mrs A at the moment. A- junior is kind of lazy, sometimes finds stuff too easy - and his new school is strict. So Mrs A has taken it upon herself to chase chase chase.

My view is let him fail, take the results and he will learn faster.

She is coming round to this so we shall see.

[nemo]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

Kind of related I am in a dispute with Mrs A at the moment. A- junior is kind of lazy, sometimes finds stuff too easy - and his new school is strict. So Mrs A has taken it upon herself to chase chase chase.

My view is let him fail, take the results and he will learn faster.

She is coming round to this so we shall see.

It is difficult to know sometime when we are helping and when we are hindering others with the lessons of life. It is a valuable lesson to learn to fail, get up, dust one's self off, and try again.

[larrybuck]

The exciting oh no moment I remember was one night in my courier work several years back.

I was driving a mid '70's Econoline van on route. UPS style everything to be done was to be
in a hurry.
A 3min. stop is LONG, 1 1/2 min,s much better.

Pulled nose first into a slightly elevated driveway, left running, quickly loaded a couple items in the back. As I'm standing directly behind the van, I slam the double doors
shut.
1 second later, I hear the certain click that told me the van had shifted itself into reverse!!!

Thankfully, I was able to stop it in about 15 feet out in the middle of a side street, and
also was thankful that around 9PM no one was driving/walking by!!!

[larrybuck]

Ford had that trans issue back then.

Out here generally, we have only 3 snow/ice event days enough to affect driving
a YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!

With that same van, I was on route in the middle of the night 70+ miles from completing
the route, when I probably had my weirdest driving event so far.

The sudden snowstorm had started a couple hrs. earlier, and by this point, 4-5 inches
were down and continuing. I had to make a stop to retrieve items from a lock box mounted on a wall of a store in a small shopping center,

To go near it would be folly, as it was downhill to it, and sloping up to leave.

The parking lot was good sized, maybe 5 acres. I picked a level place to park early on, and walked out the PU part.

I found out the chains in the van fit a small car, so I laid them out as a traction mat.

I had plenty of room, so I put it into drive, watched it go, retrieved the chains, running
after the van, throwing them in the back, closing the back right door, and running to get in the van.

I knew I might need that traction again. It went silky smooth, but we all know something else could have happened! I had to complete this 240 mile route on time,
and no other help was around.

Another time in a similar van but this time in NC., I was crossing a field where the road was flooded out of sight. The van was high enough, I thought I could avoid a 30 mile out of the way detour.

I got 3/4ths of the way across. The water had come up inside the bottom of the side doors, but stayed in the step sill (ledge).

I literally felt the van trying to turn submarine as I felt the left front off the pavement and starting to float like....really hard to describe the feeling,but I'll NEVER forget it!

I gingerly, oh so carefully barely turned the steering wheel to the right, held my breath,
and the boat became a van again, and I made it through.

Other ice adventures were on the freeway trying to make time, again in the Econoline.
With 240 miles to cover, chains, and putting along would take forever.

With not much weight in the van, I remember depending on wind circumstances, one could get up to about 40 mph on plain tires, and the van would do a cadence dance in the rear from side to side, Very important to know where the break away point was.

I was glad I lived/live here to have learned on freezing rain storms. Snow was a piece
of cake in comparison.

What are your wild adventures, that is, if you are not too chicken to share???

[euromodder]

Money can't buy you brains ...

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by shovel

Children must at some point experience fire first-hand, but that's a virtually guaranteed learning experience the first time. When an adult makes a bonehead mistake they should have outgrown in adolescence I hope they learn, but I also wonder if the reason they're still making that mistake is because they lack the capacity to learn.

When an adult makes a mistake, s/he blames someone else, maybe even tries to sue, and thinks that next time around it'll be OK.