306 A Programmer’s Guide to the Mind
But what determines whether or not Teacher thought can hold on to a
potential theory? It is the connections which are provided by the rest of the
mind. If this one item links to many other memories, then Teacher strategy
will find that it can continue to focus on it while looking at these other
memories. On the other hand, if it does not connect to anything else, then
Teacher thought will find it pulled immediately from his „hand‟ as soon as
he makes any mental movement.
We can illustrate Teacher thinking by imagining a search for money.
Suppose that one wanted to discover valid currency. The Teacher approach
would be like picking up a piece of paper, walking to the sales counter, and
asking the clerk, “Can I buy something with this piece of paper?” Chances
are the response would be, “That note is worthless. It is just a piece of
garbage.” This describes the reaction that the Teacher person often
provokes in others when he suggests a new possible theory. It is shot down
immediately.
However, suppose that an individual happened, by chance, to pick up a
store coupon. If he walked into the right location and offered his piece of
potential currency, the clerk would
respond by accepting his fragment
of paper. The result would be
positive Teacher emotion, and
Teacher thought would cling to its
mental possession. On the basis of
Teacher feelings, our searcher
would shout, “Eureka, I have
found the valid currency.”
Similarly, when the Teacher
person does come up with a
general theory, he often feels
initially that he has discovered the
ultimate answer for all of life.
Imagine the disappointment of our poor individual when he goes to the
next store and offers his „valid currency.‟ Instead of receiving approval, his
piece of paper will be rejected.A The Teacher person who receives this type
of response will usually react in one of two ways. First, he may restrict his
intellectual world—he limits his travels to the one store where his coupon
is accepted. He then lives with the illusion of a universal theory. Second,
he may accept that his first theory has a limited domain, and continue his
search for more „valid currency.‟ Eventually, he will discover other store
the poor Teacher person who ever becomes famous and must interact with
the media, who hold him to his every word. However, it is precisely this
ability which makes him an original thinker.
A I am assuming that there is no „We honor all store coupons‟ policy.