This is how you do it

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I remember reading a very long time ago about how the Japanese approach design with a method of "nothing is ever finished", meaning that there is always room for improvement. This doesn't stop having good enough for now, it just means that later it can be worked on again. This process of continuous improvement is something that I believe we should all adopt in at least the things that we care about and the things that support the things we care about.

There are many ways to build skills of course and most of us have gone through some form of education that introduces the basics of math or physics, language and art - but I wonder how much of how we learn constrains our thinking into the learned patterns, rather than exploring the depths of a skill and discovering the "rules" for ourselves.

I have used the example before of when I was a kid learning to play field hockey - I had an old stick and a ball (not a hockey ball), but I had never even seen the game played and instead, experimented. A year or so later when I did finally get to join a team, I held skills that others didn't because I hadn't been coached, I wasn't constrained by any kind of curriculum and there was no timeline on what I should learn when. My play, my rules, my experience - as a result, I was able to outperform in quite a lot of skill areas (I had to learn some others) as well as not fit into the mold of play - making me harder to trap into a position, because I was much harder to read - seemingly erratic. But, there is method to the madness, so to speak, even if the method isn't formalized into a set of practices to create a repetitive formula.

The same is for the "natural" dancers who grew up listening to salsa and watching and joining in with their parents and family at parties, compared to ballroom dancers who are molded into a particular form to satisfy competition rules. Or musicians who break out of the mold into experimental jazz.

Freestylers and Boundary riders

What I believe happens is that those who freestyle well are those who are not only doing, but also paying attention to what they are doing in order to continuously improve. This means that while they are in the moment they can push their boundaries (often failing) and have the sense of flow that makes them want to do more of what they do. This motivates and drives repetition of foundations as well as driving the edging of skill to increase innovation and explore potential.

I would assume that no matter the skill area, the people who are the most innovative and disruptive to the traditional, are the freestylers who are stepping outside the bounds of normalcy and extending the tail. While each individual might not become the next Picasso, they are all driving the future through introducing new ideas that can inspire and attract a new crop of boundary riders who are not quite on the cutting edge of innovation, but are looking for more than the average offers. In time, support shifts toward the new forms and a new normal is formalized to be taught to those in schools who will probabilistically never be more than average.

Technology and Culture shifts on the edges and boundaries, but will get supported by the masses in the middle. For example, the IT industry has been driven over he last 60 years by people who were far outside the normal to get supported by billions of people who are now proficient consumers of their ideas. Being able to use a smart phone well, doesn't' indicate if a person can build a smartphone application - The development of industries into new industries is not made by the average person, it is pushed forward by the freestylers where the boundary riders can pick it up.

Because boundary riders are often born from the traditional realms but are interested in more, they have a lot of the formalized skill of the patterns, but can recognize the potential in what breaks the patterns. This means that they can become a bridge between where we are and where we could be, by feeding off the hypothesis put into the world by a freestyler and channeling it into a consumable form for the masses.

There are few true polymaths in this world who can not only have ideas, but develop them into a usable form. For the most part, this comes through collaboration and due to the way we have designed the world, collaboration doesn't require knowing one another at all. The internet is a veritable soup of ideas that range across all topics and from one extreme to the polar opposite and this pool of ideas can be a goldmine for the discerning eye, the eye of a skilled boundary rider who can identify the untapped potential in the erratic thoughts of a freestyler and turn them into something of value.

From the past there are many, many stories of good ideas that weren't followed through by the person that had it, but instead picked up and advanced by a person who believed in it. Having an idea is one thing, turning it into something of tangible value requires a completely different mind and skill set. Most people will not be able to go it alone unless they have the resources to buy the skills they lack - which isn't going it alone at all.

But what I wonder for the future is concerning our homogenization of skill through becoming far more consumptive than creative, combined with our move away from skill development in areas that are difficult and time consuming to gain. But, for a time at least, we will still be able to have ideas, yet with the way the internet encourages sharing, those ideas become public domain.

But just to finish off, what if the data collector AIs are trawling the information we provide in an attempt to predict the next big thing - stealing the early thoughts of the freestylers and doing the job of the boundary riders with a large pool of resources at their disposal. Id the next killer app from one of the big tech houses their idea at all?

After all, Steve jobs spun the Picasso quote of “Good artists copy, great artists steal” into,

“We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas.”

With the amount of data at their disposal, the volume of ideas, cross-references, consolidated public opinion from distributed sources and a level of granularity and visibility like never before - we know they are stealing our data, we know they are tracking our moves - but, have you considered they are also stealing our ideas and selling them back to us as if they are their own?

The future is conceptualized by the freestylers, developed by the boundary riders and supported by the masses - it won't be long until we are only capable of playing a supporting role.

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]



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I'm quoting your firsts sentence, people will say I haven't read your post, but I have 😁

I remember reading a very long time ago about how the Japanese approach design with a method of "nothing is ever finished", meaning that there is always room for improvement.

This is very true when it comes to some artists. I'm not an artist, will never be one as I have no talent but when I was learning to draw, I remember I was always looking at my drawing and think here and there I could make some adjustments and this went on till I had no free time and had to finish it.

Also have seen artists dealing with this, asking themselves when is an artwork finished.

This is not at all a bad thing. When you think there's always something more you can do, there's improvement. When you say It's fine as it is, you're on a dangerous road, risking to not make any progress because you're satisfied with yourself. Then learning and evolving stops.

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Also have seen artists dealing with this, asking themselves when is an artwork finished.

I think most artists "finish" a piece and then look back at it later and say - I should have...

I think the "fine as it is" has to be approached with caution - especially if it is in the area of competitive advantage.

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Hmm. I don't think you read this post.

;0)

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I don't think so either... @erikah stole my comments on the Engagement post too.... the nerve of some people ;D

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Next time I'm going to quote the last sentence 🙂
And I didn't steal anything, go have a look, your comment is still there 😜

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But, there is method to the madness,

This got me cracking tho.

Development is finally a thing of the mind. It takes determination to have the motivation to turn imagination into reality.

The future is conceptualized by the freestylers, developed by the boundary riders and supported by the masses -

What does it really take to conceptualize and develop the future? I think that is where the gold mine lies

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What does it really take to conceptualize and develop the future?

I think that those who are the best at it are the ones who are paying attention to where the world is going to be, meaning that having fingers in many pies and paying attention to both the technical and the social trends. With enough data points, it could be quite accurate.

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It's totally true, you can become unknowingly stifled by the discipline you study in any field and need to be able to step back. Look at the big picture

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It is hard for many people to see the change because most are invested into the current situation and are rewarded by it. No one who benefits from the status quo wants to risk change, just in case the changes don't benefit them.

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Good ideas are a dime a dozen. Great ideas are worth maybe a buck each. Ideas we can act on and develop are priceless. Justin Ledvina

I worked for Justin and learned much from him. I had thousands of ideas and he paid me a dime a dozen for them :)

Ship it then fix it. Seth Godin

There HAS to be a good enough spot or nothing of consequence gets made.

Will AI and big data take over? I suppose they will, but I think we'll be much poorer as a race when all things are designed and built to the specs of average and what the majority will support. It's a pity, really.

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and he paid me a dime a dozen for them

Does he owe you anything now? :)

There HAS to be a good enough spot or nothing of consequence gets made.

Yes, but there has to be the "good enough for this round" thinking, especially when it comes to personal development. Personnel development too.

I think it is a travesty when we all want the same thing and will be happy, because the thing we want is the only thing available.

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Sir Ken Robinson gives a great TED Talk about how education kills Creativity and In am a firm believer in that without the freestyle of creativity no progression can be made.
If creativity is not allowed its free flow then everything becomes same

I believe it was in the 90's that a number of Japanese companies found themselves flagging financially because they had effectively driven creativity out of their companies in the name of production line sameness. (this was not the only reason for the bust but did drive a recognition that innovation was being stifled)

As a result, after the realization, they deliberately head hunted creative people to give their companies the edge, the spark that was needed to make them sustainable moving forwards

Creativity is what drives forward motion, maintains solid history and allows fro new ways of doing things

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I have seen that talk and he is right. I have had issues with this system since I was a kid, but my issues were never addressed. There is the expectation by all involved that it is all there can be.

The problem with standardization is that it means no one will have incentive to keep evolving it. It is great for some things, not for others. The Japanese lost their way a little in the loss of art in favor of efficiency.

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Personally, I had an experience similar to yours and many others. As a child I was able to teach my grandmother who was illiterate to write and read. My vocation as an educator was unquestionable. When I arrived at the university, although I learned many tools and techniques, I unlearned one important thing: the passion for what I was doing. Unfortunately, universities reinforce some things, but we lose and waste others. I know many who have had an experiential education, and are better at their professions than any Cum Laude graduate. Greetings, @tarazkp

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I unlearned one important thing: the passion for what I was doing.

I think in general, there aren't many people who maintain their passion through schooling, but some of those people unlearn later to find it again.

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To complement your introduction (not that it needs to be complemented), but as a way to share something I once heard Casey Neistat say.

"Never let perfection get in the way of good enough."

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Yes. I would continue

Never let good enough get in the way of evolution.

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Well, on a bigger level, we need to figure out everything on our own in our life. There are people around us who help us. Our parents guide us, to take the best possible path for our future.
Our teachers guide us to build the best possible career for us.

Still, it's always our choice that matters. It's our choice that will take us to the destiny, we create for ourself. So, on a bigger level, we are always freestyling.

And I think AI's are with too much promises and too little action(at least as of now).

I believe that humans will survive and surpass everything superior than us. Because that's what we were meant to do. To survive in unfavourable conditions.🙂

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Well, on a bigger level, we need to figure out everything on our own in our life.

No one should be more invested in you, than you.

Still, it's always our choice that matters. It's our choice that will take us to the destiny, we create for ourself. So, on a bigger level, we are always freestyling.

Yes and it is like jazz music- some test the boundaries far more than others.

And I think AI's are with too much promises and too little action(at least as of now).

I think people would be surprised. They expect AIs to be like terminator - but it is in their subtlety to categorize data and push data to influence decisions that they are so effective. Most people do not know they are interacting with AIs daily through multiple APIs.

Because that's what we were meant to do. To survive in unfavourable conditions.

Yep, but we are becoming soft and fragile.

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Yep, but we are becoming soft and fragile.

Lol, this is my desktop wallpaper. Elon Musk said, don't go soft.

I said, “Who on this fucking earth would be going right now_ YOU ARE!” I believed it enough to where my body said, “he’s not gonna stop”. 1.png

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Back in the days, Made in Japan was the cool. We looked for Japanese Watch, Radio, Machinery, Camera and everything. Back then, I also learned a term "kaizen' in my early school years that refers to continuous improvement through learning. I did not know why that is important.

After all these years, I realized that what that concept refers to is not to continuously changing but to ensure you are looping back all the learnings you had when you operate a system - an organization, a product line. I agree the randomness has its structure principle you referred in the blogpost. Random is never random yet it is guided by a pattern that is not linearly structured. That is why big data is important so that you can identify linearity in randomness - random individual thoughts.

And, you write well, but, it requires me to read everything twice. You killed me right here😇 😂 😛

But, for a time at least, we will still be able to have ideas, yet with the way the internet encourages sharing, those ideas become public domain.

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The way of the Samurai - I think when investigated, all top of their game loop back and continually develop their fundamentals.

. That is why big data is important so that you can identify linearity in randomness - random individual thoughts.

The problem with BigData only a small handful of companies with very big hands have access.

And, you write well, but, it requires me to read everything twice.

I write in an obscure way - largely on purpose

Perhaps I will write a short post on it :)

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Agree with you on Big data. May be the way forward is to have decentralized ownership of that data. I know that is complex how much we have moved into this big 5 concepts. However, anything is possible.
You writing style is unique. Try to write that short post in plain language, short sentences 😀

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It is difficult to predict the role of the majority of the gray mass in society, who can only consume. In general, I wonder why the life of this gray mass of "consumers" is still supported?

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Are there actually new ideas? I heard it said that if one has thought of an idea, for sure someone else already has thought of it.

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