i mentioned this briefly in a previous post, but i'm a big fan of loopholes.
finding loopholes requires that i be a bit more perceptive about things in my life, and it's an experience that manifests in a number of different ways. completing a zelda puzzle through an unorthodox (and probably also unnecessarily complicated) method. fixing a cooking mistake by throwing in some extra ingredients or modifying the recipe a bit (uh, the recipe definitely called for an entire can of chicken broth!! why do you ask?). brushing my teeth while getting changed when i'm in a rush (hint: don't).
as of late, though, i feel like my creative thinking has been dampened a bit. and there's a little tale that goes along with that as well. story time!
when i was a junior in high school, i took a college course pre-calc class. i didn't do as well as i wanted for the first few months of the class. but when the harder topics started rolling around, i was like "frick this, i'm gonna find my own ways of understanding the material!!" and so i did. and i started doing much better. and i fricking aced the fricking final exam!!
with the power of creative thinking, i got through my least favorite year of high school math (ap calc was a blast, not gonna lie). back then i figured i could spin my way out of any mathematical difficulty.
and then i took my first college math course in college. and it all went downhill from there.
so far i've taken three math courses. one class i thought i understood but did poorly in. one class i didn't really understand but did mildly better in. the last class i passed by the skin of my teeth. it was so fricking harrowing.
i don't know if it has something to do with the structure of the courses, the quality of my professors, or my own lack of fundamental understanding, but i'm not nearly as good at math as i used to be.
anyway, what does this story have to do with thinking outside the box? well, to put it plainly, i'm not really a creative thinker anymore. i rely on lecture examples, Google, and pure guesswork just to get my homework done. tests are even worse because when i don't know something i have to pull answers out of thin air and scribble them down in hopes that they're right. time limits, man.
and i think that's a pretty good reflection of what education and maybe even the wider world(??) is like nowadays. rote memorization and doing things by the book are being internalized and prioritized because it helps people get ahead with their grades or their lives. i know there are companies out there that still place an emphasis on individuality and innovation and all that good stuff. i guess i'm just scared that we'll all be thinking inside the box someday...
maybe in the future i'll rediscover that spark of creativity. God knows i could use a bit more innovation in my life...
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