But others (who believe in levitation) think that it will be better than it is. The group which does not know what to do stands at the edge and ponders. Questions are raised: What must be done? What can be done? Can anything be done at all? Usually, the various factions form their opinions based on a combination of perception, speculation, and crude guessing, i.e., intuition, but rarely based on reasoning.

All too often in our organization reasoning, particularly deductive reasoning, is subject to sarcastic remarks; that it is a slow and torturous process by which those who don't know the truth discover it. The deductive process of reasoning requires premises to start with. Enter two premises:

1. Ski companies invent and determine our tools;

2. Ski resorts control our methods and techniques.

At the moment nothing so drastic is true, and the premises may not be applicable to particular cases. But it is necessary to be free from burdensome details to accomplish more in the future.

The dilemma is solved. The ski industry will jump for us, or at least give us a decisive push if we ponder too long. We are out of the equation-depressing isn't it. But are we not part of the ski industry? Can we at least help to control our flight? We could if we had a compass which is relatively unaffected by magnetic -storms. If not at the edge of the cliff then perhaps in the camps of leadership such a compass could be constructed. Plenty of information and brain power is available, and what is needed is the decision to use it. Here is a generic proposal:

1. Identify what was successful in the past and consider it for adaptation;

2. Search for the truly new (not merely some new names for old things) and give it a chance;

3. Determine what's timeless and concentrate on it as a "core curriculum".

Some of the concepts not limited to a particular time or place are:

Terrain - surface - motion

Stability - mobility - balance

Program - feedback - anticipation

Sequence - rate - timing

Other outlines of our core may be proposed, but they should never become a source of unattainable wisdom, but adopted for practical application in the activity being taught.