The imparting of learning

[unixronin]

There is a proverb that goes something like this:

You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink.

To this is often added a corollary:

You can lead a man to reason, but you cannot make him think.

Trying to get information into Goose, and understanding back out, is something like that.  Except that it's not so much a case of leading her to reason, as dragging her by main force.

.... By her toenails.

Up a sheer cliff festooned with poison ivy.

With your teeth.

While dodging sharp rocks hurled down at you by hostile natives.

OK, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit about the hostile natives.  But only a little bit.

Comments

[yndy.livejournal.com]

Interestingly, that corollary was the original intent of the first homile... but that said, I think the best version of that was Joseph Campbell saying "You can lead a girl to Vassar but you can't make her think..."
;)

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I hadn't heard that variant, but yeah, it's pretty apt.

[ehintz.livejournal.com]

Heh. I know exactly what you mean.