E cannot easily fit into the familiar, we are provoked to think. To return to the picture of the little girls, you might imagine some explanations for their frowns. You could infer (1) they were given dolls they didn’t like; (2) they did not want to pose for the picture; (3) the picture was taken when they were off guard; or (4) the photographer only wanted to make a statement of ironic contrasts. If this last explanation seems the most promising, you might wonder if perhaps the photographer was purposely playing with some incongruities. Perhaps the whole composition was intentional: to contrast Hollywood play dolls against two girls dressed up as dolls; to contrast a false concept of little girls with real little girls; to contrast false faces with real faces reflecting the stresses of life. Sometimes before we can reach an explanation that reconciles all our facts, or until we can bring our information into a satisfying pattern of order, we have to go through some discomfort and confusion. And although we may never be able to confirm the final truth of our explanation, at least we have the satisfaction of having reconciled all the available information. Piaget tells us that persistence through discomfort in such a process develops our thinking skills. And the more we think, the more willing, open, and able we are to accept life’s challenges of our assumptions

Questions

1. Give an example of some incongruity that you have experienced that challenged you to recognize one of your assumptions.

2. Describe the discomfort you felt before you could resolve the problem.

3. How did you feel once it was resolved