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The bank heist gone bad is a motion picture cliché that further confounds the Chinese. Fade in as a group of five discusses its plan to rob a bank. Listen as they happily agree to split the haul into equal portions. And watch as they express feelings of inequity almost immediately upon having pulled off the job. The haul being not quite what anyone expected, the safe cracker grumbles that he ought to receive a bigger share than the lookout. Or perhaps the getaway driver, who has taken a bullet, thinks he has a case for a bigger cut. The end result in this hackneyed scene is that, incapable of making adjustments that minimize hard feelings, gang members begin shooting one another dead. Chinese teams are more flexible than this. The inherent problem in the bank heist—in any project, really—is that circumstances change over time. Things look different coming out than they did going in. Chinese partnerships appear to us to be far better coordinated because often they are. Chinese do not so easily constrain themselves to the initial terms of a deal, and they show a willingness to reevaluate at any point along the way. This is not to say that those who are in a position of power do not still take advantage of whatever leverage they hold. But, all else being equal, participants have a higher expectation that their contribution will be rewarded in a more or less accurate way on a flexible scale that is subject to adjustments.
What's Wrong With China
Paul Midler
One of the Turk’s own commanders had recently warned him that his brutality was on the verge of igniting a powder keg. Cruelty had to be calibrated; if the Turk and the Butcher pushed the Cretans too far, the entire island could erupt in waves of suicide attacks. Already the Resistance was a handful—imagine it without a shred of survival instinct.
Natural Born Heroes
Christopher McDougall
Here are a few things a good teacher will do promote a healthy Zone of Proximal Development:3 ◊ Gain and maintain your interest in the task. ◊ Simplify the task. ◊ Emphasize certain aspects of the task that will help you “get it.” ◊ Help you control your level of frustration. ◊ Demonstrate the task. ◊ Play along with you when necessary. An experienced teacher or peer has a broader perspective of what you can and can’t do, and because they have more experience, they often see a few different strategies you might use to gain the new skills. Even better, if that teacher or peer knows you well, they’ll be able to guide you based on what would best suit your personality and interests. You may not be lucky enough to have such a teacher (or any teacher at all), but there are some things you can do to bootstrap yourself into the ZPD when you practice alone. The easy and most obvious scaffolds you can utilize to bootstrap your own learning are things like metronomes, video demonstrations, this book, and all of the suggestions in Part 6. Or take another look at the list of things teachers do on the previous page and try to do those yourself. There are less obvious strategies you can call upon, too, like the mental practice strategies on page 175. Most of those you can do yourself, things like self-talk, which can help you to maintain interest, talk yourself through a tough spot, and help ease frustration. Vygotsky believed that social interactions are rich, useful, and necessary learning environments. Sometimes musicians get so caught up in the practice room mentality, we overlook the massive practice we get when we play with others. Get yourself some of that sweet, sweet Zone of Proximal Development goodness by playing with other musicians who are better than you. Lots better. Those skills will rub off on you if you pay attention.
The Practice of Practice
Jonathan Harnum
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