The School of Hard Knocks

O

kay: Random creativity exercise. Imagine the most uncreative person imaginable. This isn’t someone you know. Hopefully the figure that you create will be so formulaic and dense that it would be almost impossible for them to take part in anything… Where am I going with this? I’m not even sure.

Think of everything you are able to do: physical skills, understandings, recalling facts, writing or drawing… apart from breathing or other very basic functions, you learned those skills at some point along the way. Now let’s say you decided at 5 that you weren’t going to learn anything more, you were done and satisfied with the skills you had acquired. Hopefully you’ve learned to ride your bike by this time… and I’m sure you won’t be reading anything much heavier than the Berenstain Bears.

A super learning sphere would speed this all up considerably.

Thankfully we were all prodded through the K-12 process and got some additional learnings in us. A lot of that was factual knowledge: Algebra, physics, history, literature… and it’s preparatory. It’s very good to have that breadth of knowledge from a young age, because you don’t know exactly what you’re going to do yet: You can keep your feet wet in most things while you decide. Besides, how would I know if I wanted (or didn’t want) to be a mathematician, had I not taken a bunch of math classes first? (Curse you math dorks! We had to suffer through all that so you could find your passion!)

I’ll bring it back to that poor sap, devoid of creativity: The sooner you say to the world, “I’ve got nothing to learn from you. I know everything I’m going to need to know,” the less prepared you’re going to be to deal with anything other than what you’ve already dealt with. If you say that at 5, you’ll have trouble getting on in the world (though you may keep some very valuable traits “adults” have forgotten, but that’s another story).

I’m continually dancing around the attributes of creativity: Another possible essence is that creativity deals in new problems and situations. If you already have the stock answer, then your need for creativity is minimal. A truly new problem or situation requires either creativity or retreat. Once you’ve exercised your creativity to deal with a new problem, you’ve also just added a new solution into your stock. If you’re creativity isn’t up to the task, you might try to avoid solving it all together.          

In a way, schooling feeds us with a certain number of stock solutions, so we have a basic handle on what we want to do and don’t just throw up our hands at the first impasse. Even though one makes it through the school system and gets the basics, aren’t we in continual danger of checking-out and turning on auto-pilot? Occasionally I feel my “groove” turn into a “rut” and I know I’ve got to do something before I’m stuck in some kind of canyon. The stock of solutions I’ve built up are hemming me in, I might have such a big reservoir I rarely need or desire to search elsewhere.

I’m inclined to think that no matter how big your store of solutions is, there is no substitute for continually finding new methods and ideas. Clearly, you’re glad you weren’t a kindergarten drop-out - so why do it at 10, 20… 50? Build up your stock of solutions, but continually seek new ones.

A common way to conduct that build-up is through formal education: a teacher who knows the territory, can assess what you need to know, and then teach it to you. Though, what happens when you run up against a new problem that your schooling has you unprepared for? Often times these are personal, moral or social dilemmas that school isn’t really in the business of teaching to. If you can learn to learn outside of a classroom that’s another tool in your toolbox. Just as you’re probably glad you learned the things you did years ago, I’m pretty sure you will later be glad you learned the things you’re learning now.

Are you learning now?

Story Time

"I can see in the dark," boasted Nasrudin one day in the teahouse.

"If that is so, why do we sometimes see you carrying a light through the streets?"

"Only to prevent other people from colliding with me."

--

One day, Nasrudin and his son went on a journey. Nasrudin preferred to let his son ride the donkey while he walked. Along the way, they passed some travelers.

"Look at that healthy young boy on the donkey! That's today's youth for you! They have no respect for their elders! He rides while his poor father walks!"

The words made the lad feel very ashamed, and he insisted that his father ride while he walked. So Nasrudin climbed on the donkey and the boy walked by his side. Soon they met another group.

"Well, look at that! Poor little boy has to walk while his father rides the donkey," they exclaimed.

This time, Nasrudin climbed onto the donkey behind his son.

Soon they met another group, who said, "Look at that poor donkey! He has to carry the weight of two people."

Nasrudin then told his son, "The best thing is for both of us to walk. Then no one can complain."

So they continued their journey on foot. Again they met some travelers.

"Just look at those fools. Both of them are walking under this hot sun and neither of them is riding the donkey!"

In exasperation, Nasrudin lifted the donkey onto his shoulders and said, "Come on, if we don't do this, it will be impossible to make people stop talking."

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