As time progresses we are meant to learn from experiences.

Old adages like “those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it” are meant to highlight the fact that we can only progress if we learn from the events happening around us. We can only evolve if we learn the lessons that our experience brings us when new facts come to light.

But what if there’s nothing to learn from the new? There may not have been a full card of SPL matches this weekend, but in the 360 minutes of football in the Scottish top-flight we didn’t really learn anything we didn’t already know.

So Hibs aren’t very good, and Dunfermline can’t score or stop conceding. Motherwell are marginally better than St Johnstone, while there’s not really much difference in quality between Inverness and St Mirren. Startling revelations these were not. The moral of the story is… eh… umm… sometimes things just go the way you expect them to?

It is no great revelation to say that Hibernian have struggled this season, but after a couple of hard-fought victories and against a Rangers side whose injury worries rivalled the Walking Dead, there was the sense that maybe there was a chance of a shock. Even Colin Calderwood managed to win at Ibrox.

Ally McCoist’s men, patched together with string, gum and hope, looked vulnerable. Nikica Jelavic was again missing with a dose of illness/Premiership heartache (conspirators delete as appropriate), and the flaws of sharing a scouting system with their arch rivals had again been underlined when Celtic pinched transfer target Pawel Brozek from under their noses.

Judging by possession or clear chances created, this was an even enough, well contested match. The difference being that Rangers can defend and Hibernian cannot. Hibs should have taken the lead before Steven Davis scored his second goal of the season, and they should have equalised before conceding a second goal of such defensive horror it could have come from the imagination of Clive Barker.

Stoic fightbacks have been few and far between, and Rangers obviously grew in confidence with Steven Davis acting as puppetmaster to Sone Aluko’s deft-footed marionette. Hibernian’s day, and much of their season, was summed up in one moment when on-loan captain James McPake was sent off on his debut for attempting the second of two block tackles. From the resulting free-kick Aluko whipped in a third so sublime it could probably cure gout. As if to say “ach well, why not”, Davis got his second and Rangers’ fourth.

As obvious as the failings at Easter Road may be, they avoided dropping to the bottom of the table by virtue of Dunfermline’s inability to convert chances. The Pars ventured up to Aberdeen for the first time since receiving a 4-0 horsing from the Dons late last year.

In keeping with the air of predictability this week, it was a goalkeeping error from Jim McIntyre’s side that decided the game. Paul Gallacher may well have an injured shoulder, but needs must and the Pars boss might well suggest that his sidelined goalkeeper looks to the Def Leppard drummer for inspiration.

In seminal anarcho-punk comedy show Not the Nine O’Clock News there was a superb sketch featuring a young Rowan Atkinson planning out his new bathroom. Rather than having a bath or a shower, his character just wanted more and more toilets. Words don’t do it justice, and I suggest you seek it out for yourselves rather than take my word for it. The entire Python-esque joke relies on the audience knowing how ridiculous it would be to have too much of one thing in place of everything else.

This is obviously how Craig Brown feels about central midfielders, having added a further two to his already well-stocked middle. The signing of Stephen Hughes concludes a three season long flirtation between the player and the club. Presumably next up will be the long awaited conclusion to the transfer of Jim McInally.

With Aberdeen showing less width than an Olsen twin and Dunfermline seemingly keen on passing up their opportunities it fell to Iain Turner to make the game-deciding difference. The Pars have really suffered in recent weeks from goalkeeping errors and a severe deficiency of Paul Gallacher, and this was no different. A long clearance up-field from Mark Reynolds dropped to earth on the edge of the Dunfermline area, Turner came to collect a ball he was never going to win and Scott Vernon neatly looped a header over the stranded goalkeeper to give Aberdeen victory.

Motherwell appear to have recovered from their seasonal affective disorder and returned to third place in the division during the week with a 3-1 win over Dunfermline. They further stretched their lead by edging out St Johnstone 3-2 at Fir Park.

Henrik Ojamaa may have a surname like a Rastafarian greeting, but the Estonian looks to be one of the discoveries of the season. The 20-year-old scored his third goal in five matches to give Motherwell the lead and added a second to restore his team’s lead after Jody Morris’ equaliser.

There are certain players that immediately invoke a particular sort of goal, and anyone who regularly follows Scottish football will know exactly what is meant if I suggest that Keith Lasley scored a Keith Lasley goal. A penalty from Francisco Sandaza kept it interesting, but Motherwell took all the points.

To underline the predictability of some elements of this weekend’s fixtures, please contemplate the following statistic. Inverness haven’t lost since the 17th of December and St Mirren have drawn more away matches than any other team in the SPL. If you guessed A, a goalless draw, then congratulations, here’s a speedboat.

Quite how it remained goalless is a bit more of a mystery. Claude Gnapka hit the post for Inverness, while a series of players on both sides passed up chances to claim victory. St Mirren were neat, tidy and fluid, while Inverness combined strength and pace to cause their own problems. But then, we already knew that they would, didn’t we?

In brief

•    Rangers (58) closed the gap on Celtic (59) to a single point, with the latter on League Cup duty.
•    Motherwell (41) moved further ahead in third place with Hearts (35) out of action and St Johnstone dropping points (35).
•    Aberdeen (29) moved back into the top six for the first time this season by virtue of their win over Dunfermline. Dundee United (27) have played a game less, Kilmarnock (27) have two games in hand and St Mirren (27) haven’t won since Christmas Eve.
•    Inverness (26) moved closer to the top six jam and a point further away from the bottom two. Hibernian (18) and Dunfermline (17) look like they’re going to be duking this one out.