Caution!

Some things need to be memorized. For example, you can’t learn a martial arts kata by reading a book, and you can’t learn to carve an eagle by watching an online video. You might gain insight into the approaches and processes but will not perform well because muscle memory is required. And the way to get that is through practice.

But while the memory of these sorts of things is made ductile by practice and repetition, not all learning works this way. We shouldn’t have to be involved in a near-fatal car accident to learn that driving under the influence is dangerous. But that seems to be the tuition method many people use when learning all sorts of things we could learn by observation. Otto Von Bismarck said it best: “Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.”

Some are listless at best when it comes to this type of learning. But learning from others is the least painful way of proceeding regarding things with nasty consequences.

So here comes the confession part of this post. Even the casual reader of my blog understands that I am famous for heavily treading where angels go with only the lightest of steps.

So I’ll end this post with the advice my father often sprinkled on my self-inflicted idiocies, afterward as medicine and advice: “Do as I say, not as I have done.” Good luck!