Wednesday September 29, 2021; 3:38 PM EDT
- I watched people at a climbing gym the other day, for the first time, and found it fascinating. A newcomer did very well, but a more experienced climber had a fluency moving up and across the wall that was easy to see but not entirely easy to explain. Under lightweight clothes, the climber's upper body strength was visible not just in motions but also in built-out musculature. The climber glanced up for handholds and down for places to step, endlessly, speedily, judging options. There were layers to the skill, the power, the judgment. There were callouses and good gear. #
- Today I ran across this statement in the promotional video for a new Master Class on climbing, presented by Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell:#
- The point of using your arms in rock climbing is to keep you balanced over your feet, so that your feet can push you up the wall. #
- Mentioned matter-of-factly by Honnold, it surprised me by its casual precision. In a moment, I thought, "Of course that's right." But the common sense of experts is not instantly available to others. And their common sense is expressed in a valuable precision. Feet and hands are not doing the same work on the wall. Insiders can keep talking from there.#
- We should say to young people: "We don't know where each of you will find it, but it's out there somewhere. A particular insider's knowledge that will give you joy and power, that will help you see and act with precision, that will help you find something new inside yourself. Once you dig deep into that new language, a portion of your world will never be the same. Your job, young person, over the next several years, is to go looking for this part of the world, this part of yourself. Then, in due time, bring back the riches for the rest of us to see."#
- There should be simpler versions of that speech given to children before the age of ten, I'm sure, and richer versions should be inscribed on the proudest stone walls of American high schools.#