When Crawford is completely stumped on how to repair his VW Bug, his father offers an anecdote about the untying of a shoelace by just pulling on one string, even if double knotted. Though his father means this helpfully, to the author this kind of knowledge is anything but helpful. His father’s densely intellectual background gives him a very hands-off approach to information. Crawford is seeking more direct engagement and is looking for the kind of answers that can only be gleaned by solving problems directly, not by getting any answer in the abstract. 

Crawford uses the example of the skeleton he is asked to duplicate in a mechanical drawing class as a way of exploring mindsets and perspectives. When he first tries to draw the skeleton, all he can get down on page in a childish Halloween image that lacks the appropriate detail for the course. It isn’t until his friend Tommy, acting as the instructor, turns the skeleton so it is sitting end up that Crawford is able to see with fresh eyes. He realizes then how stuck he was in one particular way of thinking and how the same thing can happen to him in his shop and in his life.