Today we’re going to learn how to catch a ball. First we’re going to learn the Newtonian laws that describe the motion of an object under the influence of Gravity.
With those equations memorized we’ll be able to accurately model the flight of any ball. We’ll go outside and, at first, we’ll launch the ball with a machine so we’ll know the starting velocity and angle. We can then compute where it will land and stand at that location with our glove at the ready.
Once we’ve mastered that, we’ll graduate to using a small millimeter band radar system to plot the flight of the ball in real time, take our position and catch the ball.
It will take some time, but eventually we will master catching a ball.
Sounds absurd? You would be surprised at how often this method is used to learn. Classrooms that produce brains filled with knowledge, but still haven’t learned to catch the ball. You have all the “answers” but still haven’t really caught a ball.
On Green Pigs
When I first learned to read, I didn’t actually know the alphabet. My Father would read to me before bed. And being an impetuous little child, I frequently insisted on being read the same story: “Last One Home is a Green Pig”. It’s a story of a monkey and a duck who race each other home. And the last one home is a “green pig”. Great stuff.
That book was read to me so many times that I memorized it. My Dad would intentionally skips words and I would stop him, point to the word he skipped, and demand that he go back and read it.
Did I know what a word was? Not really. Did I know the alphabet? Not as such. But when it was time to learn the alphabet, how much easier for me was it to learn? These squiggles had been jumping around in my mind for months - giving them names and spelling stuff with them? Not a problem.
I was “ready” to learn the alphabet.
Knock, Knock.
Do you know what a bad standup comedian is? Someone who gives you the punchline when you aren’t ready to receive it. So much of comedy is in the timing. To see this, checkout Seinfeld’s “I’m telling you for the Last Time”. This standup routine that he did after concluding his namesake sitcom didn’t have any new material.
Go back through the Seinfeld episodes and you’ll hear the exact same jokes during the standup ‘intermissions’. But they aren’t as funny. They aren’t nearly as funny. And some of the jokes have virtually the same wording - the difference was in the timing. He refined the jokes and the presentation to better prepare his audience to hear jokes they already knew.
Readiness is important. I say this because when learning Japanese, we want to be able to understand every nuance of a sentence.
But trying to parse every sentence for perfect understanding right now, is like trying to learn how to catch a ball by carefully analyzing its flight and learning all the equations governing its motion.
Plug and Play
Learning about the flight of a ball is easier if you’ve watched a ball in flight. Learning the alphabet is easier if you’ve seen it in use. Learning the subtle meaning of Japanese sentences is easier if you’ve read a lot of sentences.
The kid who’s seen the letters of the alphabet many times is ready to learn the alphabet. And the Japanese learner who’s seen or heard a grammar pattern many times, is ready to have it broken down.
The human mind is not a bucket to be filled with knowledge. It’s a pattern recognizer built on experience. Buckets can be filled quickly with answers. Gaining experience takes time and letting go of being right all the time.
And after you’ve spent some time in the field trying to catch a ball, consider this: Keep the ball in the same position in the sky and it will come right to you. If it moves up in the sky, move back. If it moves down, move forward. Left, left. Right, right. Keep the ball fixed in the sky. That’s what the pros do.