Connecting the dots in the world’s playground

For the past month, I’ve been working with a close friend on a robotics project. It’s mind-blowing to experience what you do these days. I sound like an old man, but it’s true. We are only just starting out, but the fact that you can purchase your own manufacturing line (i.e. 3D printer), have access to high-quality consumer GPUs, curated online robotics courses and AI assisted programming was unimaginable a few years ago.

And yet, despite all these advances, it remains difficult for us humans to go out there and explore new fields. It can feel as if we’re wasting time or money exploring activities which don’t have a direct relationship with the work we are doing. But that is absolutely the wrong way of thinking about this. Over time, with enough exploration and experimentation, your body of knowledge grows. You’ll start to make connections that are less obvious to others, have ideas which sound absurd, but are actually rather profound and be able to jump across various information bubbles and echo chambers. It’s this non-linear learning path which is the most interesting of all.

When inevitably that little voice in your head starts questioning your actions, think about what Steve Jobs used to say:? you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.?

So go out and experiment in today’s world. It’s the best game of all: the game of life.