Jon Cogburn on objects and competence

This very interesting post by Jon Cogburn argues that children will become more reluctant to perform tasks (like helping feed the dog) the more “competent” they become at that task. This sparked an insight which I'll reproduce here (I posted it as a comment):

Very interesting. I have a 6 year old daughter and a 1 year old son. The son for sure "helps" when I cook by emptying the drawers of all the napkins and cooking utensils--same thing as yours, yes?

I wonder whether there is actually an OOO reason why "competence" generates reluctance. If you don't know what you're doing with an object its withdrawnness is much more evident, no?

I was thinking about this apropos of children's book illustrations and tv shows the other day. The newer ones--horribly didactic and plasticized--are much less satisfying for all concerned than the ones that are a little bit "crappy" (even) or suggestive of hidden depths. The tv shows from the 70s in the UK when you could see the animation technique or the puppet strings were so much better (I'm not just being nostalgic I think).

This has a fascinating aesthetic implication. “Bad” art and “good” art with hidden depths have more in common than “bad” art and “good” art without hidden depths. Put that in yer pipe and smoke it!