A teacher at MIT robotics played this classic game with his students as part of a teaching lesson.
1. Take a slice of bread
2. Put peanut butter on the slice
3. Take a second slice of bread
4. Put jelly on that slice
5. Press the slices of bread together
> "would result in you taking a slice of bread, putting the jar of peanut butter on top of the slice, taking a second slice of bread, putting the jar of jelly on top of that slice, then picking up both slices of bread and pushing them together. After this, tell the students that their peanut butter and jelly sandwich doesn’t seem quite right and ask for a new set of instructions."
The ideal instruction set is much more complex than you would naturally tell another human:
1. Take a slice of bread
2. Open the jar of peanut butter by twisting the lid counter clockwise
3. Pick up a knife by the handleInsert the knife into the jar of peanut butter
4. Withdraw the knife from the jar of peanut butter and run it across the slice of bread
5. Take a second slice of bread
6. Repeat steps 2-5 with the second slice of bread and the jar of jelly.
7. Press the two slices of bread together such that the peanut butter and jelly meet
The difference between these two sets of instructions is known as tacit knowledge. We acquire tacit knowledge through watching others or doing ourselves. When hiring new employees it’s important to recognize that not everything can be written into an SOP (standard operating procedure), and thus scaling a role within a company will always require a balance of training and written processes.
