Page 26 - Microsoft Word - Thinking like a wallaby 14DEC16.doc

Problem 2

A good friend has stolen a packet of cigarettes and offers one to you.

I’m assuming here that you and your friend are not old enough to smoke legally. I’m also

assuming, or hoping, that you never ever will want to smoke, but that is a different
problem!

Step 1. Make sure you understand the problem

Oh, it sounds so simple, but there are so many bits to this problem! So, we’ll start with

the eagle again and have a good look at the whole problem before we make any
crocodile decisions! As I said earlier, I am assuming you are too young to smoke and

that, anyway, you would not want to harm your health in this way. But, did you notice

that the packet of cigarettes had been stolen? And that the person who wants you to
smoke is your friend? So, in Eagle-thinking it could look like this:

Now, it may be that this wouldn’t bother you a bit – you might just say ‘thank you’, take

the cigarette and smoke it and you wouldn’t have a problem with that. If so, I
recommend you talk to a parent or counsellor straight away because you have a far

worse problem if stealing and under-age smoking don’t bother you!

On the other hand, you might say ‘no’ to your friend, who then puts the packet away

and says ‘OK’ and you continue on as good friends just like before (except now you are

22