The Fold Too Far: The Importance of Cognitive Momentum in Origami
Last night, I had a frustrating experience while exploring a new origami book I had just acquired. The first model in the book, one of the most attractive to me, turned out to be a nightmare to fold. The sequences were hard to understand, poorly explained, and I quickly lost the desire to continue. I rarely abandon a model, but this time, the effort didn’t seem worth it. I closed the book, thinking I would probably not fold any other model from it.
In neuropsychology, this has a name: learned helplessness. Some books teach us this helplessness by immediately confronting us with overly complex models. Why? Perhaps to show that the author is more skilled than you, or to filter out those who can survive these initial challenges…
When embarking on a project, I think it’s essential to encourage cognitive momentum that leads us toward increasingly challenging objectives. Charisse Nixon illustrates this in a classroom experiment where students were asked to solve anagrams.
The first group was given:
The second group received:
- WHIRLPOOL
- LEPRECHAUN
- CINERAMA
The first list is progressive, allowing the students to easily find the anagram of CINERAMA (AMERICAN). The second group, however, immediately stumbled on WHIRLPOOL and LEPRECHAUN, which have no anagrams. Blocked, these students were unable to even solve CINERAMA, which is quite simple. They had learned helplessness. Even though they had the cognitive abilities, their brain told them it was no longer worth the effort. Their self-esteem crumbled.
The art of origami, like any other discipline, relies on the transmission of skills. A good book, a good model, should inspire but also guide the folder on their creative journey. If we only seek to impose an insurmountable challenge, we risk clipping the wings of the most passionate.
It is important to find a balance between the challenge and the possibility of learning and evolving. I find that more and more authors are disregarding this balance in order to show the world how great they are. In particular, it’s time that folding sequences and the pleasure of folding receive as much focus as the creation of Crease Patterns.
When you embark on a project, whether it’s creating a book or a model, ask yourself this essential question: do you want to build an accessible path where everyone can progress, or are you only aiming to select an elite?
Nicolas TERRY
Inspired by the conference Psychologie de l'Optimisme | Idriss Aberkane
Shop Application -
Logiciel E-commerce
