Preguntas: A Quiz for those of us who need it most

[joang]

The following short quiz consists of 4 questions and will tell you
whether you are qualified to be a "professional."


Scroll down for each answer. The questions are NOT that difficult.


1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
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The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.


2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
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Did you say, "Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the door?"

( WrongAnswer)


Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.


3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?
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Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory.


Okay even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.


4. There is a river you must cross but it is inhabited by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?
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Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting.
This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.


According to AndersonConsulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong, but many preschoolers
got several correct answers. AndersonConsulting says this conclusively disproves the theory that most professionals have the brains of a four-year-
old.

[bradford_h]

Hi Joan
That was wonderful.
Did you know that the Yijing itself actually uses this device in a couple of places? Such as naiing you when you think you've moved on from a gua meaning to a line meaning, forgetting that you're still within the ambit of the gua, or sometimes tying a reference back to something that happened in a lower line. And of course all the best scholars miss it.
b

[joang]

No, I didn't, Brad. I must be one of those scholars who missed it. [grin] Please enlighten me (us) with an example or two.

Glad you enjoyed the piece. I did too. Got all the questions wrong, of course.

jg

[bradford_h]

Hi Joan
just two examples
In 28.1 we have forgotten already that it's the Roof that is about to come down. Fooling around with the white mats during a Preponderance of the Great is the Yi's equivalent of "rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic".
Gua 57 (Sun/Xun repeated) might be thought of as the "thinking twice" hexagram, the learning process that learns and adapts as it goes. The character in 57.6 generalizes from his single experience at 57.2 (been there, done that) and goes back to sleep (Chuang or bed is a symbol of complacency). But this time it is burglars instead of spirits. In the Gua Sun, first you learn, then you learn some more.
b

[joang]

Oh Wow! Fooling around with the white mats during a Preponderance of the Great is the Yi's equivalent of "rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic".
Yes! I get it now. Thanks so much, Brad. That line always had me scratching my head.

As for 57.6, I always took that to mean the person was going too far, asking the Oracle too many penetrating questions about the subject matter, or in general overdoing what line 2 was doing. I must say I didn't/don't see him going to sleep complacently, but rather the opposite, because he is delving under the bed, not resting on it. Am I off the mark there?

jg (going to sleep now. back in the a.m.)

[bradford_h]

hi joan
as literally as I can, 57.6
sun zai chuang xia; Penetrating/subtleties present under the bed
sang qi zi fu; Losing one's valuables (and) axe
zhen xiong; Persistence/constancy (is) unfortunate/has pitfalls
Of course there are many ways to read it, but for you: What happens to your stuff, and when?
In m own take it happens while you're sleeping, by someone you dismissed.
b

[joang]

Thanks, Brad. I need time to think this through before writing my reply, and I have to go out today. I'll be back later with it. Probably this evening. Chiow.

jg

[joang]

Good evening, Brad. it's 11 PM here as I begin this. Didn't have any quiet time to think about this until a little while ago. ;-( Sorry about that.

Anyway... Although your take on 57.6 seems to be the opposite of mine, both fit what you said in your 3:38 post above. That is, "you've moved on from a gua meaning to a line meaning, forgetting that you're still within the ambit of the gua."
The gua meaning of 57 is Gradual Penetration. So, one who 'goes to sleep on the job' and thereby dismisses something important, and one who 'burns the midnight oil' trying to learn too much too soon are both going counter to the idea of Gradual Penetration.

Did I get that right?

jg