Paradoxical Theory of Change

A theory is a map somebody drew after walking the terrain. Paradoxical Theory of Change is a useful map, provided you remember it is not the terrain.

What the theory says, finally, is that people are predictable in their unpredictability. That is useful knowledge. It lets you forgive more and be surprised less.

The idea is simple, and like most simple ideas it is easy to nod at and hard to use. The nod is free. The use costs attention, every day, in small change.

Watch a master carpenter teach an apprentice. He does not lecture; he lets the boy hold the wrong end of the saw until the wood itself becomes the teacher.

Learning is the one wealth that survives every partition of fortune. Tomorrow will provide the test. It always does.