A

More on Teacher Strategy 307

coupons, and he may even stumble across some dollar bills. Imagine the
Teacher delight at discovering a universal theory—a piece of paper which
is accepted everywhere.
Is Teacher thought responsible for determining the domain of his
„currency‟? No. It is the response from the stores that establishes which
„currency‟ is accepted where. Teacher strategy merely did the „leg work‟ of
testing the possible candidates. Similarly, I suggest that it is repetition
which guides Teacher processing. If the same concept is repeated in many
situations, then Teacher thought can visit these various locations and find
its theory accepted. Teacher thought tests what is repeated by choosing a
possible theory and „walking around‟ with it.A Teacher strategy would
notice the repetition and make conclusions about generality, as it noticed
that the same „currency‟ was accepted in many different areas.

Teacher strategy likes general theories; they feel good.

 The rest of the mind is responsible for making theories general.

 Teacher mode tests a theory by „holding‟ it and „walking‟ around.

 A theory which is repeated in many different contexts is general.

This leads us finally to the second reason why the Teacher person may
not identify with our description of how he thinks. It may not be
compatible with the general theory which he is presently holding.
Therefore, his emotional response will be negative. But, can‟t the Teacher
person compare a new idea with his current theory? No, not if it is
completely new. In order for Teacher thought to relate one theory to
another, the first must already be connected in some way with the second
by subconscious thought.
Therefore, learning a genuinely novel Teacher theory is a two step
process. First, the new theory must be connected with the old. At this point
it is important not to question the old theory. Rather, the new should be
shown to be a subset of the old. For instance, suppose that our searcher for
„currency‟ was still working with store coupons and had not yet discovered
real currency. One would show him, initially, that a dollar bill was like a
store coupon.
Once this first hurdle had been crossed, it would then be possible to
compare the new theory with the old; the Teacher person would begin to
„walk around‟ with it. If the new explanation turned out to be more general
than the old, then the new would change from being a subset of the old to a
superset. For instance, once our individual was convinced that money
could be used as store coupons, then he could be led to areas where store

A You can see that Teacher thought would coexist easily with the common

sense of Perceiver thought, for reasonableness in common sense is
determined by repetition.