My Co-Worker Can't Tie A Loop.....Seriously?

[Sage Blackthorn]

Thanks for the knot instruction...the simple knot is easy yeah the other one I'd have to study ....

@telecom_goddess: It's easier than you might think. If you can tie the simple knot, you just double up your string, rope, etc. and tie that same knot near where you bent the rope back on itself. Mountain climbers call that bend in the rope "A Bight". So the logical progression is if the simple knot I showed is "an Overhand Knot", and when you double up the rope to make "A Bight" in the rope, and tie an overhand knot with the double strands, you've tied an "Overhand Bight Knot", aka a loop in the rope. Hence anyone who can tie a simple knot, can tie a loop.

@Everyone Else: And since we use both these knots, as well as a series of others, at work during packaging and creating displays, I consider knowledge of them to be a requirement for employment at the shop I work at (my mother-in-law's store). Since I've been using these knots since I was 5-years-old, I'm always aghast when someone tells me they don't know how to tie them, were never taught them, or have gone their entire 28 years of life in this case never "having need" of them. It's just unimaginable to me that a 28-year-old, who's in college and studying to become a teacher has gone her entire life without ever having to learn how to do this. Plus the fact that she delights in playing Devil's Advocate (she'd fit in perfectly on this bored as much as she loves to argue come to think of it) makes me think she's just being a smart-ass.

On a related note, right after this incident about not-knowing-how-to-tie-a-loop I had a customer come in asking if we had charms for Cell Phone Straps. I showed her all the silver charm-bracelet charms we carry, and she was wanting something already on a strap. So I told her "Not a problem, I can put that on some cord for yor to make a strap for your cell phone." She also wanted something more sturdy that wouldn't pop off the first time it got caught on something. So I pulled my Gerber Multi-Pliers and my Victorinox Swiss Army "Work Champ" knife out of my pocket, took the jump ring off the charm she chose, put a split ring on it (for those of you who aren't familiar with the terms, a Jump Ring is just a round chain link, and a Split Ring is like ring you put your keys on), cut 6-inches of 1/16-inch diameter necklace cord off the spool, strung the charm on it.....and I tied the ends in an Overhand Bight, thus making A Loop that she could attach to her cell phone. This took me 3 minutes, I didn't charger her anything extra for the modifications, and on top of buying a $20 Stirling Silver Pendant to use as a Cell Phone decoration, she picked up another $28 worth of merchandise. After adding sales tax the total came upto just over $50.

So I went over to my co-worker and said "Guess what? I just made a $50 sale. Ya' know how I did it? I tied a loop in a bit of string! Now do you see why you have to know these things working here?" and walked away to help another customer.

[Andara Bledin]

One of the things I'm noting here is that it's quite probable that there are some people who actually know how to do the things that are asked of them, but don't know what those things are called.

In the OP, the comment was about "tying a loop." I know how to tie an overhand bight, but if either term had been used at me, I would have been left standing and looking stupid. Not because I didn't know how to do the task, but because the terminology would have confused me. My first thought for "tie a loop" was to make a noose, which is another knot I have no difficulty making.

Different people learn in different ways. Some can learn by reading a description, others can learn by watching an example, and still others learn best by actually doing the action in question themselves. It should never be presumed that merely because someone cannot learn something via the same method by which you were able to learn it that they are less capable.

So I went over to my co-worker and said "Guess what? I just made a $50 sale. Ya' know how I did it? I tied a loop in a bit of string! Now do you see why you have to know these things working here?" and walked away to help another customer.

Now this is just petty and, honestly, makes you sound like a complete douche.

^-.-^

[Hyena Dandy]

So I went over to my co-worker and said "Guess what? I just made a $50 sale. Ya' know how I did it? I tied a loop in a bit of string! Now do you see why you have to know these things working here?" and walked away to help another customer.

That's just being petty, and kinda mean. Maybe I'm too sensitive, but that would have really hurt.

It feels like "Remember how you couldn't figure out how to do this? Well I know and you don't. Ha!"

[linguist]

Now this is just petty and, honestly, makes you sound like a complete douche.

^-.-^

I agree. Have you even tried to show her how to do it? Because it seems that would be much more effective than complaining about her inability online then rubbing her face in what she can't do.

[Hyena Dandy]

I agree. Have you even tried to show her how to do it? Because it seems that would be much more effective than complaining about her inability online then rubbing her face in what she can't do.

Even if you have tried, some people don't learn as quickly, as effectively, or in the same way, as others. I probably couldn't tie a 'loop' if I was asked too either. I could tie a windsor knot, which is something I do without really thinking about it.

[Sage Blackthorn]

I agree. Have you even tried to show her how to do it? Because it seems that would be much more effective than complaining about her inability online then rubbing her face in what she can't do.

Yes, I did show how how to tie it......twice. And the general consensus around work form those who also know this young lady better than any of you here, is that she was being a smart-ass and just didn't want to do the task assigned to her.

She also laughed when I told her I made a $50 sale by tieing a loop.

Later on when we caught her playing on her cell phone, I said "Gee, as much time as you spend on that thing, you'd think you could find an app' to show you how to tie a loop....".......guess what, she found one, show's how to tie 96 different knots. I think this is going to become a running joke around the shop.

[HYHYBT]

I can't even tie a tie if I stop to think about how it's done.

That sort of knot, though, I could figure out how to do, or close enough. Two things I still *can't* figure out, though: 1) how to tie what I thought you'd meant by a loop (where you wind up with almost all the thread as a circle, with a knot where the ends are tied together, with it tight where it doesn't pull down to nothing or come apart) and 2) why you would throw away the pins supplied for the purpose and go "you can't us those, you have to tie knots instead."

[Sage Blackthorn]

I can't even tie a tie if I stop to think about how it's done.

That sort of knot, though, I could figure out how to do, or close enough. Two things I still *can't* figure out, though: 1) how to tie what I thought you'd meant by a loop (where you wind up with almost all the thread as a circle, with a knot where the ends are tied together, with it tight where it doesn't pull down to nothing or come apart) and 2) why you would throw away the pins supplied for the purpose and go "you can't us those, you have to tie knots instead."

2) Didn't throw away the pins. The owner never wanted the decorations pinned to the acoustic ceiling tiles last year. She wanted them hung from the hooks attached to the frame that hold the tiles. She was pissed off when they got pinned to the tiles, said she though it looked bad. So this year, we tie loops in the ends of the ribbons and hang them on the hooks. Also, the pearl-headed straight pins were never for the purpose of hanging decorations, they are the kind our Seamstress uses for fittings and alterations. Whoever hung the decorations last year took them out of her box of sewing supplies without permission, (which was another reason the owner was pissed, not to mention our seamstress.) We learned about 6 years ago that if you pin things to the acoustic tiles, sometimes the pins fall out, your decorations end up on the floor.

1) See my reply to Telecom_Goddess above, re: if you can tie "the simiple knot" shown in the picture, then you can tie a loop, aka "an overhand bight" which is variation of it made by simply doubling the rope, cord, or sting back on itself and then tieing the overhand knot.

An Overhand Knot:


A Bight in a rope:


An Overhand Knot tied with a Bight results in an Overhand Bight Knot, sometimes referred to as an Overhand Loop, or more simply "A Loop".

An Overhand Bight (aka an Overhand Loop, or "a Loop"):

[telecom_goddess]

Yup that looks simple enough and have done that myself without realizing what it was.

[Sage Blackthorn]

In the continuing saga of "I Can't Tie A Loop" at work, I found another couple websites by doing a search on Google for "How To Tie An Overhand Loop" and in about 30-seconds came up with video instructions on ehow.com:

http://www.ehow.com/video_4467995_ti...loop-knot.html

Another 30-second search later with "How To Tie Knots" resulted with Animated Knots By Grog as the top result.....and they offer an iPhone App' as well:

http://www.animatedknots.com/

For all of you who said you can't tie a Windsor or Half Windsor for your formal Neck Tie, AnimatedKnots.com has instructions.

For those of you who have trouble tieing your shoes, you may not be aware that a Bow is also known as a Slipped Square Knot or a Slipped Reef Knot. I know that it's difficult to do searches on Google or Yahoo! if you don't know the proper terms. But sometimes even without the proper terms, you can just look through the links and see where it leads you...... I just typed in "Shoelace Knot" to Google and came up with a number of instructional sites with excellant directions as well as a ton of Images.

There are, apparently, entire websites devoted to how to tie your shoes There are also tons of instructions on-line about how to tie your Necktie.

I think I might start wearing my necktie to work just to try out some of the Fancy Knots.

[muses_nightmare]

I don't have trouble tying my shoes, I just do it in a different way than most people, I can do it the other way, but it's not as second nature to me as the way I do it.

I don't really care about knowing the names of knots and such anyway. It's not terribly important knowledge in my life. *shrugs*

[Greenday]

I don't have trouble tying my shoes, I just do it in a different way than most people, I can do it the other way, but it's not as second nature to me as the way I do it.

Apparently I double knot my laces different from everyone else. I didn't find out until I was like 18. I knot the loops and laces a second time instead of just the loops.