[Wyoming23]

> The main purpose of "problems", and especially of homework, was a show of social submission, designed to persuade the teachers to reveal the next secret.

Of all the weird misunderstandings kids have about the world, this might be the weirdest I've ever heard.

I'm kinda fascinated, do you recall at what age you believed this? What was the context you grew up in (country, culture, school). Do you recall where the seed of this idea got planted?

[mrob]

Hard to say exactly, but I'd guess ages 11 to 16. UK, boys' grammar school (selective state school). When you're not aware of the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve it's the most obvious explanation for how education works. I made the common assumption that quality of education is measured by exam scores, and the most effective method of passing exams is obviously cramming. And if cramming is the best method of learning, it must be possible to learn an entire syllabus in a single day, so the teachers must be intentionally limiting you.

I feel this is the most traditional and natural model of education. It's like medieval guilds, where you had literal secrets that would be revealed only after sufficient demonstration of loyalty.