Ideas Don’t Hurt
People tend to stand very firm in their beliefs. It’s as if they forget those sure truths were once possibilities. Once a seed is planted and sprouts, it’s harder to rip it out than keep watering it. There’s an ownership and they protect it. They read Kool-Aid will get them to grow faster, so they dump it on. Blind acceptance is just as bad as blind rejection.
I often wonder why does learning from one person makes it harder to learn from someone else. It must be a trust issue. Everyone’s skeptical of something new. Especially if it refutes what they’ve always thought. If the source of new information is also unfamiliar, they’re doubly shunned.
As a teacher I learn all the time from my students. I learn different ways of thinking and better ways of explaining. I pick up the trends of youth. I know what snap chat is.
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| photo credit: carolcgood.com |
Ideas that contradict your beliefs should make you think. You react, but then you must defend your reaction. When you reflexively disagree with something, do you discredit it immediately without imagining a train of thought that might make it possible? That isn’t knowing more. It’s being egotistical. And close-minded. By locking your door and tucking yourself upon your pile of books and research, you defend yourself from things not written yet. But do you need to protect something that is solid and stable and incredibly capable of fending for itself?
Knowledge should be the easiest of exchanges. You lose nothing by letting it in or giving it away.
All is gained by considering something novel. Every innovation grew from the ridiculous.
I’ll be the first to admit I’m not one for reading research. I live my research. I don’t need to wait for evidence to be published. I’m willing to try plausibles on the spot. The immediate results are weighed and contemplated. I either continue or I stop. It’s the simplest of decisions.
Research itself came from a new idea. Enough people had enough belief in a potential new truth to invest time, money, and resources in an investigation. I simply prefer to explore the likelihood of legitimacy on my own. There are no slants in your own study, not if you work for yourself.
I love working with teenagers. Young people are open to ideas because they are fully aware and accepting that they know very little. Their minds are wide open. They question and they ask. They are brilliant at making you exceptional at explaining yourself. If you can’t explain it you probably don’t understand it. Teaching for a living is all the proof I will ever need that right can always be wrong, and new can be pleasantly stunning.
If an idea is presented with logic, give it merit. Test it out for yourself. If it doesn’t work you haven’t lost anything. You don’t have to commit to trials. If you don’t like the grip you can simply drop the weight. You’re not chained to toil in an attempt forever. Each trial gives way to an evaluation of whether something was helpful or not. You gain confidence in determining what works, opening yourself up to further testing and assessment, and continued empowerment.
Ideas are meant be agreed or disagreed upon, with reasons why commanding the most attention. The discourse of explaining thought is how intelligence and applications of knowledge increase. It isn’t about who’s smarter. It’s about who’s willing to keep learning.
The best part of my job is making stuff up to bridge gaps in understanding. It’s a big reason why I started this blog. I want everyone to be able to utilize principals to develop new, helpful specifics.
What you don’t know will always make what you do know seem trivial. Trust your eyes, ears, and brain. All the good stuff comes through there.