Being Naive → Seeing Fresh
Experience can become a cage. Veterans dismiss new ideas because "we've tried that before." Experts reject possibilities because "that's not how things work." But every breakthrough started with someone naive enough to try what shouldn't work.
The naive mind asks dangerous questions. "Why do we accept this limit?" "What if we tried the opposite?" "Why can't we rebuild this from scratch?" These questions make experts uncomfortable because they threaten years of accumulated assumptions. But progress demands fresh eyes.
Knowledge builds walls in our minds. Each lesson learned becomes a boundary of what's possible. Each past failure hardens into a rule about what won't work. We call this wisdom, but sometimes it's just calcified thinking masquerading as intelligence.
Naive optimism isn't about ignoring reality—it's about seeing it without inherited limitations. The Wright brothers didn't know flight was impossible. Einstein didn't know you couldn't question Newton. Their naivety was their advantage. They explored possibilities that educated minds had learned to ignore.
The greatest innovations often come from outsiders. They lack the "proper" knowledge of why things can't work. They haven't learned the "right" ways things should be done. This ignorance becomes their superpower—letting them attempt what experts know better than to try.
This isn't praise for ignorance. It's recognition that sometimes knowing too much can blind us to new possibilities. The trick is maintaining beginner's mind while gaining expert knowledge. To stay naive enough to imagine while becoming skilled enough to execute.
Fresh eyes see new worlds. Keep them open.