Overheard a kid call a knockout box 'a dumb square with wires' and it made me rethink how I explain things to new guys

I was showing a first year apprentice how to pull wire through a knockout yesterday and he just stared at it like I was speaking another language, so next time I'm going to describe it as 'a hole with a metal collar' and see if that sticks better.

2 comments

2 Comments

murphy.linda1mo ago

alexc93 nailed it with that "dumb square with wires" bit because it reminded me of when my buddy tried teaching me to change a tire and kept calling the lug wrench a "four-way." I was standing there holding this cross-shaped thing like an idiot while he got frustrated I didn't know his fancy name for it. Sometimes the simplest description cuts through all the noise and actually teaches someone something.

alexc931mo ago

The dumb square with wires" honestly that's kind of a perfect description when you think about it. It's funny how we get so used to our own jargon that we forget how ridiculous it sounds to anyone who hasn't been around it for years. I've noticed this same thing at the hardware store when I'm trying to explain a simple fix to someone and I start throwing out terms like "box offset" or "pig tail" and they just nod like they get it but their eyes are totally glazed over. It's like we speak two different languages sometimes and the only way to really connect is to strip it all the way back to what something literally looks like. That kid might have been onto something with his dumb square description because at the end of the day that's exactly what a knockout box is.