TBP Open Your Mind

Do you remember when you learnt to ride a bike? I expect you fell off, a lot? I did!

When you first started off you were probably very unsure what to expect - you knew it was possible to ride a bike because you knew of other people who had done it before, but seeing someone do something, and doing it for yourself are two very different things. You were cautious at first because it was a new experience, and relied on a push from someone to get you started.

As you grasped the basics you would have felt very proud of yourself, until you lost concentration and ploughed into the ground in a heap of legs and bike. Other times you might have been going along concentrating so hard that you didn’t realise how far you’d gone, and might even suddenly have realised you no longer knew where you were going because you had gone straight by your original destination without giving it a second thought!

At some point during your bike learning experience you realised that if you look at the ground and concentrated on the negative things like falling off, you probably did fall off. However by feeling confident and acting confident, you somehow just knew how to succeed, and how to enjoy having control of the journey…

In an earlier article we looked at the different stages of learning we go through when learning a new skill. Here we will discuss how this relates to every day activities, and consider situations where it is not always ‘best’ to have all our skills at the fourth level of learning.

The fourth stage of learning (unconscious competence) is what most of us would call a habit. They are an extremely useful part of our lives - how tedious would it be to think about which way to tie your shoelaces every day? Surely there is a better way to express your creativity! Conversely there are areas of our lives we would like to consciously think about. Clearly there is a balance to be found between having skills we do subconsciously, and skills we carry out consciously.

At school, you learn that 4+4=8. This was probably learnt by repetition, so you automatically know when asked what does 4+4 equal, the correct answer is 8. But what about 3+5? Can that also equal 8, because we know that 8 is 4+4. If we learnt mathematics in this way, learning every possible combination of questions and answers, it would be pretty futile. It is far easier to learn the rules, and then apply these to the questions to reach the answers.

Once you know the rules, the next step is applying them correctly. If you have an ambition of 8, but you are constantly doing the sum 3+4, you are not going to get there. The choices we make given this result fall into three categories.
1: We keep doing the same thing (3+4), and keep missing our target (8). This leads to frustration.
2: We change what we are aiming for, and decide 7 would be an acceptable result. Coincidently what we are doing (3+4) equals 7, so we are now satisfied.
3: We start thinking ‘outside the box’, thinking creatively, and consider other ways of achieving our target (8). With a bit of trial and error, chances are we will reach our target.

Trial and Error could be rephrased as ACTION and ASSESSMENT. We take action, and then see what results that action has given, and if we are moving closer to our target, or further away from it. The action can then be adjusted and repeated accordingly.

The process of knowing which of the three methods you use to attack a problem can only be discovered by consciously thinking about what you are trying to achieve (the target outcome), and what actions you are taking to get there. This is where it is beneficial to step back to level three of learning, and double check if your habit is helping you, or not.

As we learn things, we go through four stages of competence.

Unconscious incompetence - not only do you not know how to do something, but you have no idea what specifically you do not know. Or to put it another way what you don’t know you don’t know. An example of this would be driving a car. If you have never driven before, not only do you not know how to drive, but you also have no idea what driving a car is like.

Conscious incompetence - this is where you start learning and begin to appreciate what is involved in the skill you are trying to learn. In our car example this would be like your first few lessons - you work the pedals, turn the wheel, crunch the gears, look in your mirrors and so on. Watch out cyclists! It is usual to feel overwhelmed during this stage because there are so many new things going on which you have to attend to.

Conscious competence - you now have a good grasp of the skill. You are still having to think about what you are doing, but because you have had more practise you can attend to things in a more controlled and confident manner. When learning a new skill it is easy to stop at this stage and feel you have finished learning. However pursuing the fourth stage is usually worth the extra effort.

Unconscious competence - this is the final stage, the holy grail we should be aiming for in almost everything we do. You can perform the task you have learnt without having to think about each and every little movement. Going back to the car example, when you want to change gear it just happens. Your hand automatically works the gears, and your foot pumps the clutch at the right time and by the right amount - all while you carry on singing to the radio.

So there you have it. Think about something you are learning or have learned recently, and see if you can spot which stage of competence you are currently at…

In 2006 car manufacturers Toyota, Nissan, and Lexus are releasing new hybrid cars. Honda is also giving its existing Civic and Accord hybrid models a significant upgrade.

Along with the new and improved models comes an interesting trend. It seems the manufacturers have finally realised that people will not ‘go green’ if it means losing out in other areas, especially performance. The 2006 range boasts improved performance which make the new hybrid comparable to the petrol hungry alternatives, whilst providing nearly twice the mpg fuel economy.

In addition to this they have started including options such as high-end audio systems and dual-mode air conditioning. A clever engine management technology is present in the new Honda Accord which shuts off half the cylinders when the car is crusing at speed, saving more fuel and giving a quieter ride.

Time will tell if 2006 really is the year of the hybrid. Analysts say that 10% of customers will opt for the hybrid alternative IF the car they want gives them the option. The key point here is that people choose the car first, and the engine type second…

Debt is a funny thing which can easily take over your life if you don’t keep it in check.
In this article David Maillie gives some advice on how to get out of debt. I am currently working on a series of money management articles and tips which i hope to have ready shortly. Click here to read the article

In the past week I’ve read about Google taking heat because some researcher in Germany did searches like “Americans Are Known For” “Germans are known for” and just imagine the rest you might query on. So the question came up “Is Google Biased Culturally?” Then I read Google is taking heat for expanding services to China despite the fact that the Chinese government is blocking content which it deems unworthy of it citizenry.

Google is but a cataloger of information. And it is a very good one at that. It does not try to give an opinion, it just catalogs and then retrieves based upon logical criterion. Whether or not Google provides searches in China, the very fact that they are ‘in’ China expands freedom, or the concept of freedom, if even so slightly.

Google did not create the information about anybody, or any culture, on the Web. It merely cataloged it. Don’t kill the messenger. I can be tough on Gooole, and I am sometimes a bit uncomfortable with the ever-growing amount of power Google holds under one big roof, but this is where I draw the line…

Today Google has released their ‘google pack’ of essential software for your desktop.

The software included by default is Google Earth, Picasa, Google Pack Screensaver, Google Desktop, Google Toolbar.

Google Earth - get a birds eye view of anywhere in the world.
Pros: Pretty interface, Easy to use, Fun!
Cons: Quality of images vary a lot, making it unusable for viewing some regions.
Recommendation: Install it and see if you have a use for it.

Picasa - photo editing graphics utility.
Pros: Gets good reviews.
Cons: not sure - i havent tried it yet.
Recommendation: Give it a try.

Google Pack Screensaver - display your pictures as a screensaver.
Pros: Has some nice layout options such as collages.
Cons: Windows XP comes with a similar screensaver, and how useful are screensavers really?
Recommendation: Okay if you like that sort of thing!

Google Desktop - index everything on your computer so you can easily find it.
Pros: not sure
Cons: Early releases had security issues. Not as good as Copernic Desktop Search.
Recommendation: Use Copernic Desktop Search instead.

Google Toolbar - add-in for Internet Explorer.
Pros: Allows you to search without going to the search website.
Cons: Adds clutter to IE. Windows XP SP2 adds a popup blocker to IE anyway.
Recommendation: If using XP then install Service Pack 2 and use their popup blocker. Alternatively use another browser such as Mozilla Firefox or Opera which has popup blocker functionality and a whole load of other benefits.

The Pack also comes with some optional software which i’m not going to review in detail at the moment, but will say that i would avoid Norton AntiVirus, RealPlayer, and Trillian.

Overall i’d say the google pack is a good idea, but the choice of software isnt the greatest.

Dear All,
As part of our on going cost-cutting exercise, we are proposing a major change to our Desktop policy and a further move towards a recycling and paperless office. The goal is to remove all laptop computers by May 2006 and all desktop computers by June 2006.

Instead, everyone will be provided with an Etch-A-Sketch.
Technical Justification:
1. No boot-up problems
2. No technical glitches keeping work from b eing done.
3. No more wasted time reading and writing emails.
4. No more worries about power cuts.
5. Budget savings on upgrades unparalleled
6. No danger of viruses and worms infecting our data.

Frequently Asked Questions from the Etch-A-Sketch Help Desk:
Q: My Etch-A-Sketch has all of these funny little lines all over the
screen.
A: Pick it up and shake it.

Q: How do I turn my Etch-A-Sketch off?
A: Pick it up and shake it.

Q: What’s the shortcut for Undo?
A: Pick it up and shake it.

Q: How do I create a New Document window?
A: Pick it up and shake it.

Q: How do I set the background and foreground to the same
color?
A: Pick it up and shake it.

Q: What is the proper procedure for rebooting my
Etch-A-Sketch?
A: Pick it up and shake it.

Q: How do I delete a document on my Etch-A-Sketch?
A: Pick it up and shake it.

Q: How do I save my Etch-A-Sketch document?
A: Don’t shake it.

Regards,
IT Department.