I've been learning about software design patterns the last few days, thanks to my Portland friends. Turns out they use this concept to teach computer science these days. And as I understand it, it's a good one.

So I wrote a pattern about patterns, to see if I got it. Here it is.

When you want someone to understand a new concept, provide them with a simple example that illustrates the essential properties and nothing more. Omit the formal definition. That can come later.

This pattern would be help Amazon, for example, create toolkits that are immediately useful to experienced programmers.

And here's an example of a pattern that can be used to help a neophyte understand what a pattern is, if that person is a reasonably experienced JavaScript developers.