The Master always insisted that we must learn by ourselves – teach ourselves — rather than depend on other people’s authority. This had its limits, of course, as when a bright young fellow was convinced he ought to try drugs as a means to mysticism — and “take the risk, for one can only learn by trial and error.”
That moved the Master to tell the old story of the nail and the screw:
“Here is one way to find out whether what you need in a plank is a nail or a screw: Drive the nail in. If it splits the plank, you know you needed the screw.”