Do Not Define the Unknown

We love to break things down into component parts in order to make sense of the world around us. We classify everything, creating neat divisions and categories to facilitate our understanding. Yet these divisions are our own: they may help us to understand, but how true is that understanding?

When we build artificial barriers, we limit our understanding of the whole: we expect that new information will conform to our neat classifications and risk misunderstanding as a result.

Nature is continually adapting and changing, and we will continue to be confronted with the new. To maximize our comprehensive capacity, we must look at new information without preconceived notions.

By looking at new information objectively and acknowledging that we do not “know” in any concrete sense, but rather in an observational sense, we leave ourselves open to new ways of perceiving.

Keep an open mind and transcend biases that can limit your ability to find innovative solutions to problems.