Who are some of the leaders that we look up to? At least in my case, the names are owned by Silicon Valley's entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Steve Jobs, as well as a never-ending list of scientists and explorers. The question now is: why do we look up at them?
At first, they all managed to create something that the great majority of the population is probably not closely brave and capable enough to create or even think. Galileo went against the church to prove his theory was correct, Columbus literally invented new cartography in order to represent the newly discovered land, Jobs offered an extension to the human brain and Musk... well Musk is just nuts.
In a similar way which is different from person to person, they all managed to create something that other people were not capable of. We then placed these individuals in a socially constructed pedestal which labelled them as "geniuses". Interesting how all these "geniuses" have something in common: humanity.
They all took care of humanity in some way. But what if we removed these innovators from the pedestal? What would happen if they gained a more "human" nature once again? ... chaos? anarchy? What if it was to discover that what they did isn't something special after all and what if their "genius status" was to be just the result of an ever-increasing momentum that started with them and got transmitted through time? What if they are on that pedestal because of damn luck? Too many ifs. It's giving me headache.
What is luck? When Alexander Fleming was asked how he discovered penicillin, he only replied that he was "lucky". He found himself in the right place at the right time. But luck does not exist. Luck is called luck only when something random and totally extraordinary happens right in front of the eyes of a prepared mind. Galileo decided to use a boat-observing tool in the wrong direction, it is believed that Columbus wasn't even above average with his seamanship, Jobs was probably high while thinking about the Apple I and Musk does not possess any social interaction skills whatsoever (according to his biography). But are they prepared minds? Unquestionably. How? They all observed humanity, saw an opportunity and simply took it.
Maybe then its time to start Observing and Listening what goes on around us. Let us use our senses to make sense of the world and of humanity. Maybe let's start off with that.
That's all.
At first, they all managed to create something that the great majority of the population is probably not closely brave and capable enough to create or even think. Galileo went against the church to prove his theory was correct, Columbus literally invented new cartography in order to represent the newly discovered land, Jobs offered an extension to the human brain and Musk... well Musk is just nuts.
In a similar way which is different from person to person, they all managed to create something that other people were not capable of. We then placed these individuals in a socially constructed pedestal which labelled them as "geniuses". Interesting how all these "geniuses" have something in common: humanity.
They all took care of humanity in some way. But what if we removed these innovators from the pedestal? What would happen if they gained a more "human" nature once again? ... chaos? anarchy? What if it was to discover that what they did isn't something special after all and what if their "genius status" was to be just the result of an ever-increasing momentum that started with them and got transmitted through time? What if they are on that pedestal because of damn luck? Too many ifs. It's giving me headache.
What is luck? When Alexander Fleming was asked how he discovered penicillin, he only replied that he was "lucky". He found himself in the right place at the right time. But luck does not exist. Luck is called luck only when something random and totally extraordinary happens right in front of the eyes of a prepared mind. Galileo decided to use a boat-observing tool in the wrong direction, it is believed that Columbus wasn't even above average with his seamanship, Jobs was probably high while thinking about the Apple I and Musk does not possess any social interaction skills whatsoever (according to his biography). But are they prepared minds? Unquestionably. How? They all observed humanity, saw an opportunity and simply took it.
Maybe then its time to start Observing and Listening what goes on around us. Let us use our senses to make sense of the world and of humanity. Maybe let's start off with that.
That's all.
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