Age brings many things, good and bad, but one of its worst aspects might be a decline of an experimental spirit.
Biological factors aside, I suspect that one of reasons adults develop skills at a slower rate than children is because children have less resistance to experimentation and play – behaviours that deliver fast feedback and, in turn, the opportunity to iterate rapidly.
Adults, on the other hand, gravitate towards thinking and introspection, which delivers limited actionable feedback from the real world. Adults get trapped in thought, and you can’t think your way into riding a bike.
A child innocently embraces the error rate and grows from the feedback it provides. An adult fears the error rate, and therefore, the willingness to reach and to leap is lessened.
The result; stagnation that breeds decline under the guise of stability.
The cure; more art and more Lego.
The Thoughts of Others
- “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anaïs Nin
