Reductionism, market economics, and the old guard of industrialism all love singular correct answers. These are the bodies of thought which copulated to produce the contemporary scholastic model — which I will not call ‘education’.
People who are responsible for solving real problems, namely: entrepreneurs, designers, and grandmothers, have done all we can to disabuse society of this foolish fixation.
There are simply no important and concrete questions to which there are single correct answers. Abstract questions? Yes. Many abstract questions have singular correct answers — but only if asked very precisely. And, nearly every abstract question touches the concrete world at the same point as many other abstract questions, which is where things get complicated. What does that mean? Who knows? Well, you know. Or you will by the end of this chapter, which is practically the same.
In this chapter, we’re going to see why all objectivity must begin with a well structured and deeply understood question. We’re going to jump back into the limitations of arithmetical thinking, and how the failure to recognize those limits sabotaged public education for centuries. We’re going to look at the foundational, even metaphysical, nature of entrepreneurship and business. We’ll talk about how discussing the work of Alex Osterwalder with consultants from a civil engineering firm led me to see an important distinction in competitive environments. And, then we’re going to get into the issue of market competition — at every level. We’re going to poke at why communism, socialism, and other leftisms couldn’t possible change any of these dynamics. And we’re going to bring it all back to how we think about right answers.
Like most of this book, this chapter could easily be a book on its own. So, this is gonna move fast. I’m gonna make some flat assertions. You’ll be left with the choice to agree or disagree, to do your own homework or phone a friend, to seek truth or to find an answer that fits your identity.
And that’s okay, because single correct answers don’t tangibly exist. Don’t believe me? Just wait and see.
Obviously, this deeply provocative chapter needs to see the light of day. And, I’d like to ask you to help me get it there. But not right now. Jump on the sqglz newsletter to stay all caught up with this project and related work.
cheers.