What is the Moral of this Story? Brook Kubik (Email), By John Steele

 Brook Kubik:

"One of the prerequisites for success in strength training -- and in pretty much anything else in life -- is the ability to think for yourself -- to collect evidence, review the data, and make informed and rational decisions.

And, of course, I'm not talking about doing your "research" on the Google -- that almost always leads to bad results.

I'm talking about opening your eyes and ears -- looking around you -- and putting your brain to use.

It's actually hard for many people. They just don't do it enough.

When I teach classes at the middle school and high school, I try to always do at least one thing that makes the students stop and think -- on their own -- without their chrome books -- just eyes, ears and brainpower.

The other day I was teaching a class of 6th and 7th graders. The class went for 90 minutes, right before lunch, and when it was about 10 minutes until the bell, they (understandably) began to get restless.

So we put the chrome books away, and I told them we were going to do some math.

I handed three pencils to one of the students, and asked her to hold them tightly in one hand.

"Hold up your hand so everyone can see the pencils."

She did.

"This is how much space 3 pencils will take when you hold them tightly," I said.

Then I picked up a very big handful of pencils and held them in my right hand.

"Now use your math -- how many pencils am I holding in my hand?"

They protested loudly. It wasn't fair. It was impossible. There was "no way" to guess the right answer.

"It's easy," I said.

I held the pencils higher.

"How many pencils am I holding in my hand?"

The guesses started to pour in, fast and furious.

"17!"

"No."

"23!"

"No."

"30!"

"No."

I held the pencils in front of me, a little lower than before.

"Look carefully," I said. "How many pencils am I holding in my hand?'

More guesses. All wrong.

I shook my head, sighed, and laid the pencils on a table to my side.

I held up my hands.

"Think!" I encouraged. "How many pencils am I holding in my hand?"

"25!"

"No. How many pencils am I holding in my hand?"

"15!"

"No. Try again. Think! How many pencils am I holding in my hand."

I held up my empty hands and waved them in the air.

"21!"

"No. Think -- look -- use your eyes -- how many pencils am I holding in my hand?"

Hands shot up attached to guesses.

But one small boy's eyes opened very wide. You could see he had experienced a sudden flash of insight.

"None!" he said, almost in disbelief, almost as if he doubted what his eyes were telling him.

"That's right!"

I continued to hold up my hands.

One by one their eyes went wide -- and they got it.

I'd been waving my empty hands right in front of them for over a minute -- all the while asking them how many pencils I had in my hand -- and they had never noticed that my hands were empty.

It was probably the best lesson of the day."

It is something everyone observing politics should also keep in mind, because that is all smoke and mirrors as well. And in the end, just empty hands and promises.