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Author here. After reading the comments I’m afraid my article didn’t communicate the main point clearly. The mental models suggested here are sweet, but:

It’s not about how to explain recursion or programming, it’s about explaining abstract and complex concepts via adopting to the listener’s worldview and letting them experiment to evolve that view.

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I enjoyed the article and it was very clear to me. Thank you for writing it.

Singling out details and sidetracking the comment thread about this one detail is just a thing that HN tends to do frequently. Usually the first few comments determine the tone/topic of the thread instead of the article itself. Which is not always bad.

I thought your point was clear. As someone who is more of a “learner” than a teacher currently, I appreciate the thought of letting me, the learner, explain my current mental model and then a teacher helping troubleshoot that. Listening to this also helps pinpoint where I’m stuck, specifically. Often, a TA or professor will launch into their favorite explanation without first understanding my question.

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