Cynics say that people like us are foolish idealists, because we’re fighting according to our values and not according to what seems possible. But these cynics are the real idealists, so fixated on the ideal of “success” that they become paralyzed, unable to act without the appearance of likely success. And anyone who controls the appearance of what is possible and what is impossible controls these people utterly. That’s how a lion “tamer” is able to abuse and humiliate an animal that could kill him in seconds, by giving it the illusion that it can’t win. And people who have been given the illusion that they are powerless in what they really care about, like the lion, become depressed and lethargic, and stop caring, and just go through the motions waiting to die.
In our culture this is called “growing up,” and these mature and sensible people are always telling us that we’re “wasting” this or that because we can’t succeed. Even if we can’t, what’s more of waste, a trapped animal that fights to the death, or one that dies without a fight?
Agreed and well said.
I think completely outside of specific curriculum, western education has caused a lot of damage in this regard. The hyper focus on correctness or accuracy of an answer without caring how or even if you engaged in the process causes this deep fear of being wrong. Especially with religious schooling this then gets tied to moral or political correctness again ignoring the value and learning the process itself can provide.
The result is a bunch of people too scared of failure to even try anything different than the status quo in both day to day life and radical thought and action.
I did have some very good teachers at very crucial moments of my life that did not operate like this. From giving majority credit for showing your full work in maths, to intentionally having us stop artworks before finishing to make us focus on process, I had professors that focused on the value of failure.
Now I do a lot of rock climbing and at a certain level the sport becomes abject, repeat, failure. You must figure out how to learn from it and value small improvements you find along the way to finally getting the whole climb.
All of this feels connected to what you were describing for me. How that mindset shift has invaded my whole life.
From giving majority credit for showing your full work in maths
i think every good maths teacher does it like that.
I grew up all the way by the time I was five years old by this standard.
Now that I’m an actual adult I’ve learned that growing up has a lot more to do with emotional maturity, self-confidence, and social responsibility. If a system suppresses the honest expression of emotions and the confidence to be totally authentic within a group and instead encourages people to consider themselves each the enemy of all others in a competitive system, I don’t think it’s a conducive environment for actual maturity.
