This week’s Learning & Development Network ‘Friday Funny’ is titled ‘Online Learning’. This is the perfect visual metaphor for what happens when we take learning jargon literally but not humanly. Arthur is technically doing online learning — he’s on a line, reading “The Art of Focus” — but he’s completely missed the point, and he’s dangerously unsupported.

For L&D, it skewers two common traps:

The focus fallacy. We tell people to learn about focus, resilience, or wellbeing without changing the environment that makes focus impossible. Giving someone a book on focus while they’re on a tightrope isn’t development — it’s a liability.

Confusing access with effectiveness. Just because learning is “online” doesn’t mean it’s well-designed for focus. Arthur is trying to learn while balancing over a city skyline. How many of our learners are trying to complete a module while balancing deadlines, Teams pings, and tightrope-level stress?

When was the last time your online learning design actually made it harder for someone to focus — and what would it take to get Arthur safely back through the window?

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