LEGO Lessons — Using “Clutch Power” to overcome the challenges of 2020
Knowledge may be power. Yet, if you are inundated with knowledge you become powerless
In the world of LEGO every individual block can connect to another. They use “clutch power” — a discovery made by Godtfred Kirk Kristiansen in 1958. He realised the strength of a simple but effective layout, identifying that “tubes on the bottom” display a remarkable strength when “interlock(ed) with the studs on top of the other bricks”.
Together these tubes and studs create a surprisingly solid structure. Ransom Riggs in his book The Origins of Everything proclaims that this design has stood the test of time. It is still the defining LEGO shape we all know and love. An outcome of this legacy means that all of “today’s sets are compatible with sets from 1958 onward” with the promise of infinite interconnection.
Power(less) Knowledge
Clutch power made LEGO both timelessness and universal, anyone can get the satisfaction of sticking two blocks together. Nonetheless, not all LEGO is that simple. According to The Collector the record setting Star Wars Millennium Falcon released in 2017 has 7541 individual blocks and 10 mini figures. This is a world beyond the 149 block Church - the most complex set released in 1958.
In some ways 2020, like a LEGO set with new and intriguing blocks, is a year which requires brining together different types of knowledge in new and challenging ways.
- In February we all became virologists.
- In March a pandemic locked down our everyday lives.
- In May we were mobilised to confront centuries of everyday racial injustice by the Black Lives Matter movement.
- In August we must navigate the easing of restrictions.
Now more than ever we are constantly consuming information, adapting to new situations and adjusting our worldview.
We are reading, listening and watching… coming into contact with new ideas and questioning old assumptions.
Like the “endless possibilities” of LEGO, putting individual pieces together is easy, however successfully constructing the bigger picture is infinitely harder. It takes skill to be flexible and open to learn new things. To accept previous mistakes. To acknowledge your own privilege. To elevate and learn from previously marginalised voices.
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Like LEGO life in 2020 is full of old and new blocks. Unlike LEGO, where every piece can connect to another, life just isn’t that simple. Some ideas will connect … others will not… some need to be reformed.
To see how pieces should fit… or not fit… requires care and attention. It can be hard to make sense of things on our own terms.
Knowledge may be power. Yet, if you are inundated with knowledge you become powerless. Keeping up with new information and being able to evaluate its place in a broader whole is vital .
Processing Time
We must move with great speed to keep up. We know that within these knowledge flows is lifesaving and life-giving information that can make our lives and the lives of others better.
Sometimes the pace and pressure of this never ending flow means we are left with insufficient processing capacity. We lack the time to digest, absorb and reform what we have learned.
Given the volume and frequency of current information flows. Many of us chose to disconnect.
Some turn off news notifications on our phones. Others binge watch Netflix shows, or invest time in a creative project. However, we all have a social responsibility to keep up at the moment and we still find ourselves absorbed.
Matt D’Eavela is a self-proclaimed minimalist (and one of my favourite content creators). In a video he claims we all need to focus on “the small things”. Having built a career focusing on the individual details, he understands how life is a marathon not a sprint. We can all do more to create healthy habits “that will have a lasting impact” on our lives.
I believe that in these turbulent times we should all be focusing on PROCESSING TIME.
Now more than ever we need to set time aside to sift through this river of information. Just like building a LEGO set you must never loose sight of the bigger picture. Put energy into the broader process — see where each block fits with the larger whole.
This means refusing to rest in binaries. To give yourself time to develop tools with which to identify the nuance in the information you receive. This will allow you to identify the pearls of wisdom that will help you move forward.
Trust in the process — one block at a time.
