Chapter 7. Design patterns
This chapter covers:
Not long ago, I was trying to get my son, age five, to ski. It started well: he saw his older sister skiing down a mild slope, and immediately became eager to show us how easily he could do the same thing.
He couldn’t, though. He insisted on putting his skis on in the middle of the slope, and immediately fell flat on his back. I told him it was a nice try, but he disagreed. He had simply lost all interest. I suggested we go lower where it was less challenging. Instead he insisted on going to the top. I humored him and we went up. He had one look down the slope and said, “It’s scary.”
Of course it was scary. Of course he refused to try it.
I finally persuaded him to do it at the very bottom where the surface was almost flat. Better than nothing, I told myself.
Afterward, I started to ponder the cognitive limitations of a five-year-old. At that age, a child is capable of learning the skill. He’s OK with the “how,” but the “why” is beyond his ken. The idea that it will be more fun later if he takes the time to practice is meaningless to him. So is the concept that there is some middle ground between scary (the fear of falling) and boring (trudging across a flat field of snow as if wearing snowshoes).