Les Paul passed away last week, and I just wanted to post this little piece of thanks and to share something about his story that I had heard before, but seems extra relevant to my personal exploration into education and how we learn – his childhood music teacher told his mom, “Your boy, Lester, will never learn music.” (NYTimes).
Yep. You read that right.
It sounds like his mom enabled him to keep at it. Read the entire NYTimes story. Not only did she enable him to continue to pursue music, it sounds like she empowered him to look at his entire house as a creative pallet. And he did. Minnesota Public Radio’s blog, “Trial Balloon” went so far as to say that “Les Paul’s Mom Invented Rock & Roll”. It’s hard to argue that.
Beyond empowering him, enabling him to continue when some indicated he had no talent was huge. Perseverance clearly became a core part of his story going forward, dealing with a car crash that would have eliminated his capability to play (he had his arm fused in position to be able to still do so), dealing with painful arthritis in his hands (he adjusted his playing style). He would cope with a myriad of life’s ups and downs and in doing so left so many gifts for the world.
Think about it. And think about how the world was changed because Les Paul believed in trying and trying again.
People believe either one of two things about intelligence and talent – either they are fixed traits – “it’s just the way someone is” – “God or genetics blessed or cursed them” – or they are something that is malleable and can be developed over time – with play, practice, and effort.
To determine your mindset, when you look at someone who has accomplished something, do you immediately attribute it entirely to something innate like talent, or do you admire the work and play (CNN Money) they put into it to make it happen?
Where you stand determines much. It effects everything from dealing with grades (NPR) to our children’s drive to try and try again (New York Magazine) to our capability to face our weaknesses head on with honesty (Malcolm Gladwell: “The Talent Myth”) or to deny we have any fiat over them.
Don’t think that those with high self esteem or low self esteem automatically fall into one mindset or the other. It’s not that simple (New York Magazine) or intuitive. Far from it (ScienceBlogs: Jonah Lehrer: Self-Esteem). .
I’m preaching to the choir in regards to many who read this blog, in particular musicians or programmers. We *exist* within a culture of learning and trumpet hard work to each other.
Observers of musicians or programmers however, routinely attribute what we do to innate ‘talent’ or ‘intelligence’ – when we know otherwise.
I’ve long had the following Calvin Coolidge quote on a page here:
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan press on has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
And lately, with the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 program’s success, I reflected a bit on it.
It was Apollo 11. Not Apollo 1, that made it to the Moon. Not to dismiss the intelligence and resources of those assembled to make it happen, but Apollo 11 rested on the shoulders of at least 10 iterations of the Apollo program and the prior NASA program as a whole. Along the way there were lessons learned *while doing*. *While practicing*. While experimenting. These lessons did not come whole cloth out of the minds of those involved. In fact there was great tragedy and sacrifice along the way. Lives were lost.
Starting points do count of course. Context does count. The resources behind NASA were those of the country. The politics at the time were favorable. We can go on and on about that. And like persistence and grit, they are factors that get swept under the rug in a culture that likes to emphasize ‘great people’. But that’s a post for another day.
We were left inspired. And sometimes I think we fail to grasp what we should have been inspired of.
After all, for sure we can’t really control the cards we are dealt – but we can how we play them.
New Yorker: The secret of self-control. – let your toddler’s imagination be free, encourage creativity, to try and try again, and understand that we have the power of choice.
NYTimes: Marc C. Taylor: End the University as We Know It – straight up inspiration about tearing down the status quo to meet the needs of today and tomorrow.
A lot of fears of mine were proven unfounded as my first class at Villanova has come to a recent close. While it was a challenge to balance out my responsibilities at work and home with the class, I made it. I participated in class (probably was among the top two conversation drivers in fact), and had a great time writing essays and reading the material required. Now I’m looking forward to re-upping, but this time, closer to either home or work. Villanova is perfect for a working adult, and I’m happy to have went there for my first class, but if I am to take multiple courses a semester, it has to be faster to reach or online. The hours spent driving were hours that could have been spent studying or helping at home.
Last week I attended an information session at Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies. What it could provide in terms of flexibility, coursework, and distance were great – but cost – at about $10-$15k a year isn’t responsible for my family.
I’m planning on checking out the Graduate! Philadelphia organization next. There’s a solution that will fit and I’m looking forward to continuing this journey.
You have no idea how blessed I feel to have this opportunity.
… The homeless say that this year’s census will show their numbers are swelling. Tent City is a microcosm of the homeless, with recovering addicts, jobless veterans and the mentally ill – ages 22 to 74 – all represented, Banks said.
In each tent, amid piles of donated blankets and cans of ethanol used for heat, there is a tale of heartbreak.
…Tent City is also known as Veterans Camp, for the several Vietnam War vets who live there, or J-Camp, for Banks’ native Jamaica. In the summer, Banks said, as many as 60 people stay there.
Some of those interviewed yesterday have been at Tent City for only a few months, and most don’t plan to stay.
“I still have dreams,” Floyd said. “I still have things I want to do. I want to be a father, a family man. I don’t plan to stay here all my life. I told [my daughters] I’d make it.”
Speaking under a steady, freezing rain, Floyd declared: “It can’t stay rainy every day.”
I tell the people I serve to start from the premise that all things are possible. Work backwards from there. Charles Kettering’s wise counsel that “Our imagination is the only limit to what we can hope to have in the future,” was never more true.
Here’s hoping that more of my geek friends can develop that outlook.
At the time, I was an 18 year old high school dropout that had recently been incarcerated in the Lebanon Correctional Institute outside of Cincinnati, OH. The one saving grace of this facility was that the Quaker originated Wilmington College had a branch located within the walls of the prison.
Facing the possibility of a long sentence, I made probably the best decision of my life to that point. That decision was to get my GED and quickly get enrolled in college. It only took a few days of incarceration to realize that something in my life needed to change and getting an education seemed to be the best way to do it. In addition to the Burroughs B1990 system, there was a lab of several Apple II computers that were capable of running Turbo Pascal. After taking the prerequisite courses, my introduction to computer programming was Turbo Pascal.
