ZENO’S PARADOX
There’s a famous mathematical conundrum called Zeno’s Paradox. It’s actually just one of his many paradoxes, but is, arguably, his most famous, and it goes like this: before one can reach their goal, they must (necessarily, mathematically) travel halfway to their goal, leaving half to go. (Why Zeno chose half, instead of a third or a thirty-second is anybody’s guess.) Traveling half of the remaining distance, then half of the newly remaining distance after that, and so on, gets the traveler closer each step but will never deposit them at their final destination. Admittedly, it’s a logic game, but we’ve been thinking about this little logical/philosophical/mathematical head-scratcher a bit lately because we’ve been thinking about our goals lately. And how, every day, we get closer and closer to attaining them, but also understand more clearly that, ultimately, we never will.
MASTERY
Our goals are this: mastery. Mastery of all we do. How we see, how we plan, how we measure and cut and hammer and install, and most of all: how we can learn to do the things we do even better. More intelligently. More efficiently. For it’s the learning, the unending engagement in learning, and the acceptance and delight in the realization that there will always be more to learn, that helps to define the impossibility of ever reaching our goal, as in the Paradox above. And we think it’s like that with mastery of any kind. In any field. The diligent expert learns and invents and improves and, for them, as for us, mastery is less of a destination than it is a dedication.
LES COMPAGNONS DU DEVOIR
In France, since the 12th century, there has existed an organization created to celebrate and embody this very thought. It’s called “Les Compagnons du Devoir”, which translates roughly to “the friends of work” and translates literally to “the companions of duty.” It’s an association that cultivates ethical values tied to a kind of mystical belief in the profound reward of well-executed work, work undertaken and completed by hand, with heart and head guiding the way. It’s rooted in the passing down of knowledge from master to apprentice, the seeking of new knowledge through science and invention, and the intelligence that can only come from years of practical experience.
10,000 HOURS
The writer and social scientist Malcolm Gladwell famously speculated that in order to become a world-class phenomenon at anything, a person needs to devote 10,000 hours to the task. Whether it’s playing a violin or writing a sonnet, or putting a round ball into a hole or a hoop, or creating a perfect dovetail joint, experience builds expertise and expertise chases mastery. One step at a time. Halfway there, and halfway there again ad infinitum and enjoying the pursuit every consequential step of the way.
“ZEN MIND, BEGINNER’S MIND”
This eternal pursuit goes best for those who seek more: in his book “Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind”, Shunryu Suzuki shares the following elemental thought: “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.” The job of the true master is to understand that they will never actually be a true master. As someone once said: “the more I learn, the more I know how much I don’t know.” Our job is to keep our minds open to all the possibilities: new paths, fresh improvements to old techniques, and even the delightful eventuality that we’ve been doing it the best way all along. It’s the beginner’s mind that keeps us seeking – through professional seminars, online courses, and trade conferences all over the world. Take a look at the Experience page on our website for a long list of trainings that highlight our abiding commitment to learning. As Robert M. Pirsig said in “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”: “The place to improve the world is first in one’s own heart and head and hands, and then work outward from there”. We’re on it; it’s our job description.
MASTERY VERSUS HUMILITY
A fitting last paragraph for a page that does spend a bit of time tooting our own horn, so to speak. The fact is, we’re very proud of who we are and what we’ve done and we feel prepared and poised for so many more challenges and successes in the future. Poised, mind you: not resting on our laurels. (though we do encourage you to visit the Gallery page, which is filled with plenty of “laurels”) And if you like what you see there or read here, give us a call and teach us a thing or two, and in return, we’ll share the fruits of our voyage with you. We’re looking forward to it.