Ask, Stupid

Scott Adams just mentioned something that seems so obvious in chapter 11 of his book "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big." If you have a question about something, there's a good chance that other people have had that same question, and instead of wasting time thinking about it, first seek out what others have learned.

My girlfriend and I have been doing calls together with the Viglo method, trying to figure out how to identify a student's errors and create climbs for them. But neither her nor myself are professional language tutors. Why don't I seek out advice from those who have a lot of experience teaching a foreign language? They could likely give me great advice on how to discover potential climbs with a student. Any of you out there saying, "Well, no shit Artie. Obviously you should do that" are definitely more advanced than me in this area of thinking. Viglo will get some professional outside help soon.

On an unrelated note, in chapter 18 Scott Adams talks about how a successful product always has a devoted or enthusiastic reception from a few, right at the beginning. It may be that 98% of people don't like it early on, but even if only 2% are enthusiastic, then that means there's a good chance you're on to something that's worth continuing (and if there isn't at least a tiny group that's enthusiastic, then you should stop your endeavor and move onto something else).

I know that Scott Adams is a fallible man, but he's found success repeatedly, after many failures, so his advice is with considering. This makes me really nervous about the new Viglo. I'm super enthusiastic for it and I know it would be hard for me to drop it because of a lack of initial enthusiasm.