[SOC] changing the subject -- a SOCratic learning experience

[Bill Cunningham]

A man went to have a tooth pulled, and the dentist said, "I will need to
give you an anesthetic."
The man said, "No, I don't need anything. Just pull the tooth."
The dentist said, "You won't be able to withstand the pain!"
The man said, "I have been through excruciating pain twice in my life. Just
pull the tooth."
The dentist pulled the tooth, and the man didn't even flinch. The dentist
said, "If pain experience left you with that pain tolerance, I would like to
know about it."
The man said, "I went on a hunting trip with three other men, and we stayed
in a cabin. We hunted Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and when Thursday
came, all were tired but me, so I went out by myself.  When I got about four
miles from the cabin, on snow-covered ground, I realized I had to 'do my
business.'  Knowing I couldn't make it back to the cabin, I decided to go
right there.  I tucked behind a tree and dropped my pants and squatted down
to go.  I didn't see the trap under the snow cover, and when I squatted, my
privates dropped in the trap and tripped it, and it slammed shut on them."
The dentist said, "Wow!  If that was the first time, when was the second
experience?"
The man replied, "When I ran out of chain on the trap."