Chapters 3-4 Summary and Analysis

There are many things people learn throughout their lifetimes. A large number of a person's skills were once carefully honed but later forgotten. Erickson uses the example of walking. There was once a time when walking seemed impossible and took a great deal of effort. One had to learn how to stand, how to take a step, and how to keep balanced while standing or walking. The skill took a great deal of effort and often took a while to manage and master. After one learned to walk, there was an effort to conquer ongoing forward motion and coordinating different movements, such as hands and feet, arms and legs, separately or together. As one gets older, the learning process involved with the skill ceases to be remembered although the skill itself is used on a regular basis, as if...