In 2012 I was sitting, dumbfounded and panicked, in a small class that taught a notorious theoretical math paper. For 40 minutes my lecturer had filled three enormous blackboards with arcane figures, equations, and proofs: the sources of my dumbfounding.
But I didn’t feel panicked until he paused and said “and so, obviously the answer is…”
I don’t remember the answer, but I do remember sitting bolt upright to scan the room. How many lost like me were there? About a quarter of the class.
I was wracked with doubt and inadequacy, “was that really obvious?” and “if that was obvious, I must be far too dumb for this paper.” Reflecting (much later and with more self-knowledge) I realised it may have been a flex, or knowledge bias, or a teacher’s bad habit of using “obviously” incorrectly. It didn’t matter; my confidence was approaching zero.
In reality nothing is obvious, especially the first time round. Truth is stranger than fiction and as technology advances, the stranger it gets.
Nothing is obvious is my mantra. It is the name of my business – now in our 9th year of putting handles on ungraspables. It is my default starting point and my reminder that progress is best discovered along the way of doing.
Fingers in the soil. Listening deeper than preconceptions. Walking someone else’s journey. White-belt mentality. Digesting hard truths and asking for seconds. Building belief with evidence. Sitting in community with respect and generosity. Then…
Discovery!
21 February 2025, Hihi.
