Technical thinking is defined as an aptitude, ingenuity, and affliction for solving practical problems through experience. From the beginning of civilization such thinking has been a significant part of human existence. Learning associated with it is a natural instinct for most people, young and old, who work in a technical field, pursue a practical hobby, or teach practical subjects. Historically the learning process, when formalized, involves apprenticing with a master who passes along the knowledge and competence by showing, doing, and discussing. Today such formal apprenticing is considered by many to be misplaced and inefficient. Why can't the knowledge and competencies associated with technical thinking be taught using computers and books? A closer examination of the basic nature and form of technical thinking and the pedagogy that drives human thought about it helps address the question and underscores why the question, rather than apprenticeship or experiential learning itself, is misplaced. It is generally accepted in the education literature, classic and more recent, that technical programs in schools are rooted in economic rather than social soil. Adolescents and young adults are "trained" with workplace skill, enculturation, and human capital in mind. Willis initially, and Lehmann more recently, refer to this pedagogy as "learning or choosing to labour." (Contains 1 footnote.)