The suggestion hadn't changed when Jin finally paid attention. When Ara laid out the two sketches, he saw how differently he'd reacted. At the next meeting, he asked the colleague who first proposed the change to show everyone how it worked. When a suggestion comes up, a good first question is what it would change.
A modern interpretation for this story
A question to take with you
When did I last pay more attention to who made a suggestion than to what they suggested?
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About the source and this adaptation
In the Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 21b:2, the sages relay the same teaching about Hanukkah lights to Abaye, first in Rabbi Yirmeya's name and later in Rabbi Yohanan's. Abaye initially rejects it. When he accepts it later, he wishes he had learned it from the outset. The discussion then considers how what we learn when young stays with us. The wisdom line paraphrases Abaye's regret. Jin, Ara, the colleague, the change in lighting, and the ending that credits the first person to propose it are modern fiction created with AI assistance.
