I posted the quote below as a comment over on Wisdump the other day.
If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything. In the beginners mind there are many possibilities; in the experts mind there are few.
– Shunryo Suzuki
I have been thinking about the above quote off and on ever since posting it, and it’s relevance to blogging. The beginners know they need the experts to learn from but do the experts know they need the beginners just as much for innovation and inspiration? Once a beginner learns the basics they move on and away from the experts if they are creative. They begin to trust themselves, make decisions and above all else if they are smart, remain a beginner testing their limits in theory and in practice. Knowing only about one thing in this day and age can lead to complete failure if that is all you truly know, studied and have practised over the years. Knowing a lot about that one thing and recognizing that one thing leads to another thing that in turn connects to many other things aids in perpetual learning. As technology evolves we only learn to adapt to and improve upon pre-existing ideas by being a beginner.
Once upon a time an expert said the world was flat. Today the world is digital. Tomorrow?
There are always two sides to an idea but the possibilities in-between those two sides are endless. Maybe that is what the long-tail is.
