Theory follows practice.
Almost never in history has someone written a theory book and then started using it to make things.
But many times, someone’s done something cool and then fifty years later another person has studied that creation, created a theory based on it, and then taught it to others.
Most teaching comes from theory.
We get instructed on a theory and then we act it out to learn. This is extremely useful because it accelerates our learning through past historical achievements. But the problem comes when we assume that’s what we need to do with our lives and that’s completely incorrect.
To move to any point of innovation in your life you have to get to a point where you’re trying things first, and learning about them afterwards. This is what all great inventors, artists, and philosophers have done. And it’s critically necessary to relationships and experiencing your life to the fullest.
Theory historically follows practice. But a life well lived is one brave enough to practice and experiment in order to make new theories possible.
Watch the video version here.