Sometimes all it takes is asking.

In these days of everything digital, it can be a bit of a pain to wriggle up a decidedly analogical mind to work its way out of a technological doubt.

How the hell do I do it?

The interrogation pops up time and time again when, for a pressing reason, I am compelled to delve into the mysteries of computers, their intimate body parts or their intricate language (see how analogic I am?) .

I can be a bit of a stubborn beast when these things happen. I will go and try, and try, and try again.

Still, the first step I take is always untutored: conjuring up  all my faith in my “over par”  knowledge, abilities, capacities, capabilities and skills, I go down all the alleyways I might thing viable to solve the problem at hand.

This, of course, 9.5 / 10 times results in utter defeat. The problem will remain unsolved and, as usual, I will be humbled by the weightless wall of reality that will descend upon me.

Next step: go ask google and youtube, the voice within orders.

And so I do.

And this might produce results. In fact, comparing with the above approach, I would say that it would improve things a solid 50%.

But, then again, some tutorials are either too technically minded, too long to browse before you find any lead that you can follow that you think might be a viable way of approaching the problem, or simply you go through all of it (text or video) only to find that your question remains unanswered.

That, in itself, might not be a bad thing, if you are musically minded, of course – go ask Charles Ives – but most times it is just another easy path to frustration.

And then there’s the last resort.

And the best of all

For it is also the simplest.

Go ask someone who knows how to do it!

This option, by comparison with the other two I’ve mentioned, raises the success rate to the inverse of that of the first approach I always try.

Teachers, formal or informal, are vectors of positive infection, they are the yeast that knowledge needs to ferment, they can be chain reaction starters!

And we all are teachers, for we all know things that others do not.

Where the line is drawn is on one’s attitude, one’s willingness to share the knowledge one carries.

For knowledge is, as financiers say, “an active” and as such can be traded for money, influence, position…

Or it can just be given away,

Like most teachers are always willing to do, provided you ask.

So I never forget to say “Thank you”, when someone has helped me solving a question that might have proved too difficult for me to solve without the benefit of  the help of someone who already knew how to do it.

And it is so easy, sometimes. All it takes is asking!

P.S. I finally found out how to put links in a comment thanks to the help of Eva, the keeper of  the Mail Adventures blog