I went on the website of designer Bruce Mau and read his “Incomplete Manifesto for Growth”. (
http://www.brucemaudesign.com/#112942/) I like his approach to growth, that it is neither good nor bad. I have been on a search for inspiration lately. This passage did just the trick: “3. Process is more important than outcome. When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we've already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there.” As a developing artist his statement reaffirms a idea that I already strongly believe in.
The second motivation that I appreciated was, “22. Make your own tools.
Hybridize your tools in order to build unique things. Even simple tools that are your own can yield entirely new avenues of exploration. Remember, tools amplify our capacities, so even a small tool can make a big difference.” I like this idea. I think tools can be a number of things. For example, I was listening to NPR on Tuesday morning and I heard Doug Lemov (Managing Director, Uncommon Schools; Author, "Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College") talking about teachers and his book. What he said interested me not because I could use his advice the specif advice he gave regarding his field instead it was his approach that I took to heart. In so many words, I put it in my toolbox.
“Most advice to teachers uses the word strategy. A strategy is a decision that you make, and you make it once. So if I'm a tennis player, my strategy might be I'm going to charge the net.
A technique is something like your backhand, where you, you know, you start low, you finish high. You practice it 100 times before you go in the game. You wouldn't dare play a tennis match without practicing your backhand first.”
Lemov’s differentiation of technique and strategy are very useful. It is an obscure way of expressing something so mundane like practice makes perfect, yet he applies it to life. I’ve been thinking about it ever since.
Back to Mau’s words, I think that just taking a few of his motivations and employing them in everyday life will allow me to see and experience the world with wider eyes. His ideas allowed me to reflect on life in a way I may not have if I hadn’t read his manifesto.
Mau, Bruce. ““Incomplete Manifesto for Growth”. 1998. 13 May 2010.
(http://www.brucemaudesign.com/#112942/) Conan, Neal. Lemov, Doug. “Simple Techniques Can Make You a Great
Teacher.” 11 May 2010. 13 May 2010.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126743261.
