Thanks for getting lost
Following the directions Yuna had drawn up, Tom reached his destination without getting lost. Lucas, on the other hand, got confused along the way and didn’t know which way to go.
Both of them had been following the same directions. Yet Yuna thanked Lucas and rewrote the directions.
Why?
Let’s unravel your preconceptions, one by one.
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3 Levels of Hints
Take it little by little, just as much as you need.
Hint 1
Yuna was checking to see if the directions were helpful.
Hint 2
Both of them understood the text, but there were differences in what they already knew.
Hint 3
Even on a road they were walking down for the first time, was the description written in a way that allowed them to narrow it down to a single landmark mentioned in the directions?
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The truth behind this mystery
Yuna had created directions to hand out to first-time visitors and had asked Tom and Lucas to test them out.
Tom had been to that location before. Even if the directions simply said, “Turn right after passing the store,” he could fill in the details from memory.
For Lucas, who was there for the first time, it wasn’t clear which of the shops in a row was being referred to. When he contacted Yuna because he was confused, she realized the instructions weren’t clear enough for first-time visitors.
Yuna thanked Lucas for pointing out the confusing part and added a landmark to make it clear which store the directions meant.
If you notice this, you’ve got it right
People who had been there before were able to fill in the gaps in the directions using their own knowledge. It was only when a first-time visitor got lost that the missing explanation was identified.
It isn’t necessary to specify the exact store or the direction to turn. As long as the explanation relied on information only Tom knew—such as his familiarity with the area or photos he’d seen before—to fill in the gaps, it was considered correct.
Suggested questions and answers for group play
- Did Lucas walk against the directions?
- No.
- Did the layout of the streets or the locations of the stores change while they were walking?
- No.
- Were both of them able to read the directions?
- Yes.
- Had Tom been to that place before?
- Yes.
- Was it Lucas’s first time there?
- Yes.
- Did the guide lack the necessary explanations for first-time visitors?
- Yes.
- Was Yuna happy just to have confused Lucas?
- No. She was grateful that he pointed out the areas that needed correction.
- Did Tom’s prior knowledge make it harder to notice the guide’s shortcomings?
- Yes.
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