Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

To be flexible enough to do new things, I often need a foundation of fundamentals in place first.

If I am standing on shifting sand, I have to be flexible to adjust my stance and upper body so I don’t fall. Flexibility is required just to stay in place.

If I am standing on a foundation of fundamentals, flexibility allows be to do new things. I can bend, twist, stretch, reach, etc. without falling flat on my face. The foundation of fundamentals is in place first.

But how long do I have to work on building this foundation of fundamentals before I use flexibility to reach out to new things?

The answer is almost always, “Longer than I want.”

Okay, that aside, the answer is, “That depends on what new things I want to attempt.”

A bigger leap requires a firmer foundation of fundamentals.

If I want to write one paragraph of fiction, I need to know something about grammar, punctuation, and such fundamentals. If I want to write a ten-page short story, I need more fundamentals. If I want to write a 500-page novel, and so on.

If I want to change the world with a new type of software, I need a pretty big foundation of fundamentals. The same is needed if I want to build a bridge across the English Channel or a space elevator that lifts me to the moon.

Fundamentals can be boring. Acquiring fundamentals can be boring. If I want to be flexible and try untried things, I need some foundation of fundamentals.