Tech — Work — Ramblings

by Mike Kalvas

202208211426 Work with people who know they don't know

If an expert says something can be done he is probably correct, but if he says it is impossible then consider getting another opinion.1

Experts bring their opinions and knowledge when looking at something new. Whatever doesn't fit into that understanding and frame of reference is dismissed. In this way, they can block innovation.2

The truly great leaps in a field come from novel thinking, not from incremental improvement on the existing paradigm. Note that this doesn't mean that the incremental improvements aren't important and don't set the stage for the bigger leaps. But in order to facilitate novel thinking, we need to approach things without these pre-conceived frameworks.

It's best to work with people who are consistently open to new ideas and humble to lifelong learning.

  1. Hamming, R. W. (2020). The art of doing science and engineering: Learning to learn (pp. 336). Stripe Press. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53349431-the-art-of-doing-science-and-engineering ↩

  2. Epstein, D. (2019). Range: How generalists triumph in a specialized world (1st ed.). Macmillan. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41795733-range ↩