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Subject:instructions for a pb&j sandwhich - a little OT From:Sean Hower <hokumhome -at- freehomepage -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 28 May 2002 08:19:30 -0700 (PDT)
Hi all.
I was watching a PBS show for kids called "Zoom" yesterday. One of the recurring pieces was a group of kids trying to give directions to another kid on how to make a pb&j sandwhich. The kid following the instructions took everything the other kids told him quite literally, with results such as the kid places the jars of peanut butter and jelly between two slices of bread, and the kid putting peanut butter and jelly on the bread wrapper.
It was very entertaining to watch and it made a good point. We assume an aweful lot of shared knowledge when we intereact with other people. Those assumptions can lead to misunderstanding and mistakes, making it difficult to communicate important information. The example demonstrates:
* the need to understand our audience
* the need to create explicit instructions that include even the obvious
Just a philosophical footnote in the life of this tech writer. Enjoy or reject. :-)
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Sean Hower
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