Weather: Sunny and cool
Music: K-pop Pandora
Mood: Content
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"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid" - Albert Einstein
During the brisk walk with an old college buddy, Ilya, the idea of universal intelligence emerged. Ilya, an engineer over at Seagate, brought with him a feeling of practical empathy mixed with a tried and true desire to continually learn. The gusto with which he spoke of his work was a refreshing reprieve from the more customary feelings of dissatisfaction that seemed so common among my fellow post-grads.
In this walk, we discussed processors to politics - post-grad life to postulating the immense value of the human experience. Because of the vast array of available disciplines offered at Seagate, Ilya has essentially entered a combination of workplace and university. Imagine if you will, (pardon my nerdom) that Ilya has merely selected one particular guild/group to join for now to understand and learn the tricks of that trade and in a couple of years he is then equipped to jump into a totally different field/guild (of course after completing all the side quests). These opportunities were not lost on this life long student and at times it felt like he was describing what future courses he hoped to explore.
This drive - this insatiable hunger to learn and to grow is not limited to the realm of preset fields or industries. It's when we understand that everyone is an expert in something that maybe they will in turn be willing to share their wealth of knowledge. Society could do no greater disservice than to trivialize the work of so many hard working individuals. It seems the agreement should be that society acknowledges and utilizes the wealth of knowledge and experience present and in response individuals seek to share the gifts, knowledge and experiences they possess. In this way, the perspective of the whole is seen as the sum of the individual contributions - inseparable and indivisible.
However, this proposition hinges on the desire of the individual to fearlessly pursue and grow, in not only becoming an expert, but also seek to improve and share the progress they have made/discovered. What makes for a competitive company also makes for a competitive society. Hear me out, it can be likened to two companies - one who is innovative and one who has one product that hinges on a trade secret. I believe a company that continually innovates and seeks to perpetuate a culture of endless improvement will far surpass the company who invests everything in protecting it's trade secret. I understand that the example I have offered is quite polarized and that many companies prefer a healthy balance of both but it's when this sort of spirit of innovation is not confined to the marketing/development/sales teams but rather expands to all aspects and dimensions of a company that innovation has occurred. Thus creating a culture of improvement in which every part of society has an equally valid voice in the discussion.
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