Be the dumbest person in the room
How putting yourself in uncomfortable situations helps you grow.
The other week, I went to the Space Tech Expo in Anaheim. I’ve been trying to learn more about the industry and I took the Instagram ad I received as a divine algorithmic sign that opportunities are abundant for learning.
No nosebleeds for me.
It also meant I was showing up in a space (pun intended) I knew relatively little about. At least compared to the brilliant minds launching stuff into space. I’m pretty good at exploring rugged terrain, but I did have a moment where I was walking around the trade show floor looking at complex 3D printers, spacecraft parts, and engineering jargon thinking, “I have no fucking clue what most of this stuff even is.” I felt dumb, overwhelmed, and incapable of comprehending anything. It was like I had time traveled into the future and had a lot of catching up to do.
Mmmmm Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) printer.
I also told myself it’d be silly to be too proud and hide my ignorance. Could I at least talk to a few random people and ask questions? I watched a demo of a scanning device for quality control on space parts. I saw Nikon had a booth and discovered they make these booths that perform 360 degree scans of critical launch parts and ensure everything will function well. I asked a few questions that the answers to were in hindsight obvious, but at least I took action.
Later, I attended an industry panel about ensuring national superiority in space. Thankfully, it was less ‘Murica and more about the urgent need to advocate for STEM and not waiting for perfection to experiment. I walked around the floor after, proud of myself for taking notes and following the conversation.
Space art.
Then I took a detour. I tend to wander, as if I’m a video game character needing to reveal the map of an entire level. I took the escalator to something called Skills Lab. Here I felt right at home. There, people were discussing how important telling stories about space is. Sure, I had heard some of this before, but I’m not sure if we ever get enough reminders that getting someone emotionally invested is far more powerful than logical agreements. The Skills Lab is also where I met a former NASA JPL alum and an inspiring creative director. I don’t think I could have scripted it any better and it reinforced the kind of magic that’s possible when you let your intuition guide you.
Fresh off my good fortune, I attended a lively discussion about permanent human presence on the moon and what that could look like. I tried with all my might to attend one last session about how AI is being used in the space industry. My attention battery ran out halfway through, but let’s just say it’s far more impressive than what your corporate boss is mandating you use it for.
It felt a little like my first day at a new school.
Then, it hit me. I often felt like the dumbest person in the room that day, but isn’t that the situation I should be putting myself in more often? When you put some strain on your brain, that’s when you grow.
The biggest fools? They never step outside their comfort zones. For them, the status quo is fine and doing anything beyond that is elitist. I get that we’re somewhat wired to not want to do difficult things, but I don’t want to be like that. It doesn’t feel like what I came here to do, and certainly doesn’t honor the miracle of being alive.
Besides, we’re all the dumbest person in some room. You just gotta be brave enough to find it.