I, too, was troubled by the “blank slate” assertion. In education we work hard to help teachers see that their students have a host of ideas, many of which they have figured out for themselves. To elaborate on this point, babies can discriminate between two and three objects at a very young age. As they grow older, they figure out a lot of mathematics from their observations of the world. While explicit teaching can help raise awareness, children construct knowledge, and as Piaget would tell you, calling them blank slates does not give them credit for the powerful thinking they are capable of.

I was having thoughts akin to your drive in experience. Good thing you got support from others at the scene! In the author’s experiment, the line cutter apologized and retreated. But what if the line cutter exploded in foul language and refused to leave when challenged politely? We all see cases where our fellow humans depart from social norms and are rewarded for doing so. I really have to fight against my instincts and dig deep for the courage to speak up, and find it doesn’t always have a story-book ending when I do so.

Does Candy remember that incident and did it impact her relationships after that?

Was there a reward incorporated into patching up the relationship for both parties?

Would you recommend a reward for both parties in patching up a relationship?

Eventually we’ll have an app for the rude teenage drivers. Record the license plate from your smart phone and a text message will be sent to the parent. A cross between the insurance company’s car monitor and those pesky street cameras that record a traffic violation to produce a civil violation.