How insights happen?

Insights happen at the intersection of different cultures, fields and industries is what Frans Johannson says in his book The Medici Effect.

What does this mean?

From childhood we have been told that if you study hard, you will get a good job and settle down in life (You will mostly hear this in the Indian and Chinese cultures). Because education will give you insights into various things in life. Math, Science, Economics, Language etc. every subject provides a deep insight into that particular stream. Starting from the basics to advancements in that stream. You learn the subject from school to a masters degree or probably a Doctorate and even Post Doc. When you learn a subject with understanding into how other subjects operate, you will gain insights into specialising in that subject matter. For example, a combination of Math and Computer science can help you understand programming better. Economics and Math will give you the required insights into how economy works and how you can solve economic problems with various mathematical models.

This is with respect to education and subject matter expertise. But, how do you apply to solving bigger problems? By understanding cultures.

I very commonly hear from my family and friends in the US that their education system is the best in the world and hence people don’t want to come back to India. It definitely might be true, but here is my argument; why are people from Indian education background in the top positions? (You might argue saying we are better at management and leadership, which is also correct). Many scientific discoveries happened in the US, so people there are better at going deeper into the subject. This is a never ending debate. Why I bought up this topic is not to compare education systems, but wanted to share my perspectives on insightful things get when you grow up, work or life in various cultures.

Cultures provide a deeper understanding of subject matter. They are the sources of innovation.

Let me give you an example of my experience. US has always been driven in being a super-power since a long time. People there are constantly working towards to inventing something new or creating something which enhances the quality of life. Hence, there are more people thinking of new things. This culture might be there for various reasons, but yes, it does exist. After world war II, Germany wanted to ensure they come back to life quickly and strongly, and hence they adopted to longer working hours and focused on outcomes. Japan, a land of constant natural calamities always has to comeback to normalcy post a natural calamity. This is the reason, even after the only nuclear bombing in the world took place in their country, they bounced back and are a strong economy. India, post Independence struggled for a bit in transformations. The transformations have been solw because inherantly we are little lethargic in nature. Post the economic reforms, everything changed overnight, like the whole nation was on a constant dose of Redbull.

In summary, Education, Culture and Economy will help you with an insightful eco-system.