Some people find their trajectory early, and only because of the freedom they were given to find some bizzare path.
Tiger Wood swung his first golf club aged three. Walt Disney started delivering newspapers 11. Andrew Carnegie learned to use the telegraph aged 13 and was his family's breadwinner 3 years later. Da Vinci joined Verrocchio's studio at 14.
None of these paths started on the conveyor belt what we now call traditional education. They were inspired to grasp beyond their reach because they enjoyed productive childhoods.
A productive childhood doesn't mean working from dawn till dusk like a victorian chimney sweep. It comes from the gentle encouragement to explore curiosity and pursue interests.
Today we insist on educating people for the best part of 20 years. Most loaf idly with no idea where the conveyor belt is supposed to deposit them. Yet they stay on track because they've been warned of the imminent disaster that might befall them if they make a misstep.
We already know where asymmetry lives. Usually it's wherever most people aren't looking. Occasionally it's right under everyone's nose. But we're blinded by our obsession with uniformity.
If Simba had never ventured into the dark place, he could have avoided much calamity. He may also have never found his strength, and would have missed out on all the friends he made along the way.
Which fields are safe enough for kids to explore without breaking all their limbs but not so mollifying that they turn 21 without ever getting dirty? And how do we shine light on the holes in the fence? Every Disney movie you'll ever see teaches us they'll break out anyway. And often they'll do so in a much worse manner than if they were ever taken on a field trip. Maybe parents are just boring. Maybe we all should be more like Moana.
Bright sparks will wander.
