Every “obvious” thing you know, you had to learn once. Be patient with people still learning it.

CREATIVITY

WHAT THIS MEANS

Everything you now find obvious had to be installed once, usually by somebody being patient with you. Knowledge erases its own history: once a thing is automatic you cannot remember not knowing it, so other people’s slowness starts to look like a defect. The gap between you is in time, not in ability.

When you catch yourself irritated that somebody is not getting it, try to remember learning it yourself. Then explain the step you were about to skip. Teaching anything well is mostly putting the skipped steps back.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

Who have you been impatient with for not knowing yet?

MORE IN LEARNING & CURIOSITY

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