Innovation, Education, and Mindset
New Opportunities in a Changing World
The opportunities for development are evident, almost palpable, especially right now. What is needed, however, is that famous change of mindset with the desire to put yourself out there and take risks to succeed!
The mindset... Who should change it? And how? Those who are reasonably expected to come up with innovative ideas are the young people, who are educated in schools with the same methods as the previous generation, which corresponds to the generation before that, and so on. When looking for solutions, one has to get to the bottom of the problems. In this case, the overall education system, from school to university to professional training, are disconnected from each other and do not allow for the adaptability needed to face changes and challenges with a proactive mindset. This is one of the main reasons for the archaic mindset: not only and not simply the advanced age of the population, but the propagation of this mindset through a rigid education system. So, despite the cultural changes of the time, real innovations are dragged out with effort and the energy and resources needed for development are exhausted even before there is an opportunity to enact the changes.
What should be the first change of mindset? Putting yourself out there and taking risks!
Brief Historical-Philosophical Excursus
Socrates, the father of Western thought, had to commit patricide against his teacher, Parmenides, in order to affirm his ideas.1 Parmenides was the founder of the philosophical school of Elea, near Paestum, now in Campania. Later, following the wide influence of Plato, the court in his city, Athens, condemned him to death by suicide. The first philosopher in history was accused of corrupting young people with ideas contrary to traditional usages and customs.2
Education has always been a delicate and very relevant issue in human history, as the story of Socrates shows. On one hand, the innovation of thought has to challenge the tradition that precedes it in order to assert itself; on the other, it is subjected to the judgement of those who are in a position to make decisions on behalf of the community.
Recommended reading: Sophist by Plato, passages 236d-239a; 257b-258e. Read online.↩
Recommended reading: The Apology of Socrates by Plato. Read online.↩