Tag: learning

Spilling the Tea: Why a Full Cup Might Leave You Thirsty for Knowledge

I came across this lovely story while doing research for my book.

There was a Japanese Zen master named Nan-in who lived during the Meiji era (1868-1912). Once, a university professor came to visit him to learn about Zen. When the master had spoken for a while the professor interrupted and said ‘Oh I already know that’, in an attempt to impress the Master. The Master then invited him to discuss the matter over tea. The Master quietly prepared and poured the tea. When the tea was filled to the cup’s brim, he kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. “It’s full! No more will go in!” blurted the student. “Exactly, said the Master. Return to me when your cup is empty.”

Emma Vallin, organizational consultant and coach

 

Pavlov’s thoughts on my bike

My bike was stolen yesterday.

It’s definitely not the first time; I think I had 3 bikes stolen during my time in London and God knows how many in Uppsala! Unfortunately I had locked the bike in the front wheel only. Rocky mistake according to my partner who said I might as well have put up a sign for the thieves.

The thief kindly left my front wheel behind

The irony is that the bike was stolen outside the venue of my psychotherapist course, on the exact day of the Pavlovian Theory lecture. You know the guy who discovered dogs could be conditioned to drool at the sound of a bell.

The thief kindly left my front wheel

We discussed how a victim who suffered an assault could develop a phobia of for example balloons if balloons were present at the time of the assault. Classic conditioning. But apparently I cannot learn that a poorly locked up bike in an urban environment is likely to be stolen. I assume the level of pain involved could be a factor but we didn’t get that far in the lecture.

I’m only on day 4 of the course and I hope it becomes clearer!

If I finally learnt how to lock my bike up remains to be seen.