My professor says its a shame that i'm not planning to be a teacher because she says i explain things well. I have to disagree with her. Explaining things is hard work and i have to be sufficiently motivated to even attempt it. Generally, i'll only take the time in one of two cases.
The first case being that i have a reasonable expectation of learning something in return from the person i'm interacting with. For example, discussing work with a peer who can provide critical feedback. In these cases i'm often explaining something to make sure i fully understand it in my own head. If i know the person to be competent and they are not understanding what i'm trying to say, it's probably my fault.
The second situation in which i find myself taking extra time to explain things is when the other person is a hot chick. I know, i know, big surprise, right? But i believe one of the enduring fictional relationship archetypes continues to be when popular girl falls for math nerd because she needs help with her homework and then realizes that deep down he's a nice guy. That's right up there with boy and girl who have been neighbors since kindergarden go to the prom together and get married. Although, that scenario would never work for me because deep down i am an ass, but its fun to get caught up in the fairy tale.
When it comes down too it, i think i'm too selfish to be a good explainer. Maybe someday that will wear off and i might become a teacher, and a good one at that. We will just have to wait to see what happens.
Posted by Matthew at June 22, 2005 10:35 PMLOL "because deep down i am an ass" -- at least you're man enough to admit it. Bravo!
Posted by: Jeff at July 5, 2005 11:23 AM