August 29, 2024. 6:42pm
Imagine for a moment you recognize me in a crowded room, walk over, and sit down in front of me. I smile. You smile back. And then I say to you, “Drive to the stop sign at the end of the street and make a left. Follow that road for about five hundred feet, then bear to the right when you see the park. Continue through three stop lights and take the second ramp onto the highway. Now go another forty miles…”
Confused? You’ve probably gathered that I’m giving you directions. But why? To where? Where am I sending you?
That experience you’ve just read is how I have felt throughout my entire life whenever any person, teacher, or book has tried to teach me music (saxaphone and guitar), mathematics, or electronics.
I suppose in some circles, particularly writing, it’s taught to apply the in media res principle. In other words, begin in the middle of the plot, as opposed to from the beginning. In writing, this method is intended to hook readers’ interest, and many authors through the editing process find they can completely delete the first chapter of their manuscript in order to skip forward to the action more quickly.
At present, I am working my way through the Elenco Electronic Playground 130, which is intended to teach electronics and is targeted for ages 12 and up. I received a similar Radio Shack brand kit for Christmas when I was ten years old. Or maybe I was eight, but I know I was about two years younger than the recommended age on the box.
Now thinking back, I lost interest because I was plugging wires into springs without understanding “the why”. But I didn’t think today, this new kit with it’s touted “164 page manual” on the box would bring back the same experience. Heck, maybe it’s the exact same crummy manual?
Currently I’ve completed the 8th of 130 circuits and am still waiting for more explanation. But I’m not giving up this time. I think I’ll augment my learning with blogs, websites, and internet videos. And if I’m super ambitious, maybe I’ll re-write this 164 page manual along the way to create the “unofficial” guide that actually teaches electronics to those like me—whose brains are wired (or short-circuited) a little different than most!
###