In the wise words of James Victore, "First, learn everything. Then, forget it. Then Design." What does this incredibly contradictory yet ingeniously revolutionary statement mean exactly? Why bother learning things only to forget them? Well I can tell you even I discovered it's importance as I found myself giving similar advice in my post on changing the world. If you can change the world with this advice, it must be good right? You can't go into a project empty-minded on insights and research. Your work will of course benefit from whatever knowledge you bring forth, however a brain full of other peoples ideas means less room for you to make your own. Yet another reason why children are so creative, they have less life experience and short attention spans, so they aren't holding as much information at one time. By learning as much as you possibly can, and then forgetting it, you will still have the personal impact this research has created on you. You are still informed but you are not clogged with information. Challenge the idea that learning and studying means cramming more information in your head, sometimes forgetting the details can be a helpful creative process. |