If you have kids, I’m sure you remember what it’s like taking them to the park to play. (I know this might feel like a distant memory depending on where you live, but give it a shot.) From the perspective of an adult, it’s often loud. But the noise serves a purpose. The kids are making noise to attract attention. It could be an effort to get another child to throw a ball, or an effort to keep a child from jumping off the swing into a crowd. Noise is part of playing. As a parent, we often try to… Read More
If you have kids, I’m sure you remember what it’s like taking them to the park to play. (I know this might feel like a distant memory depending on where you live, but give it a shot.) From the perspective of an adult, it’s often loud. But the noise serves a purpose. The kids are making noise to attract attention. It could be an effort to get another child to throw a ball, or an effort to keep a child from jumping off the swing into a crowd. Noise is part of playing. As a parent, we often try to tune out the noise so we can respond to the rare but important signal of distress that happens when kids play. (With my boys, it’s not as rare as I’d like it to be.) Noise is the way a child attracts attention when they are distressed. Maybe they’re hurt or need help because their head went into the monkey bars just fine but is more difficult to get out. As a parent, the noise is unavoidable, but it’s our job to quickly respond to this important noise… what an engineer would call the “signal.” Stock market analysts face a similar… Read More