Fear of the Deep End

"Everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler."

Albert Einstein
Physicist, Nobel Laureate, Author










My adventures with water went like this: splashing, wading, breath holding, floating, kicking in the shallow end, then the Y and the dark fear of the blurry depths beneath the diving board. That one took time, but at some point, I found the courage and leaped in. "Don't stop, SWIM!” yelled the coach. Ah! The light dawned, and I was in motion. I swam, dived and proudly, became a Life Guard.

In my fascination with the pool, diving and the occasional daring rescue, I never noticed that the neighborhood kids had remained in the backyard; safely avoiding "the monsters of the deep.” I invited them to the pool – offering to teach even; but the pronouncement came back – "We can't swim!"

I wondered, "Does ‘can't swim’ perhaps mean, ‘Won't try?’"

Later on, during an ocean sail, I jumped over the side into the salty, cold, calm sea and with a shock and deep fear, realized that I was once again "out of my depth.” It's a long way down to a bottom you can’t see or even find. I conquered that fear as well, concluding that "swimming" is "what you do in water" – no matter what the depth.

Today I'm finding that as water has "depth," so too do ideas.

As a child, when the conversation went to "deeper realms," I ran out to play. But increasingly, the desire for substance led me to "wade in" and hang with the elders in discussions that were clearly "over my head," but I learned to "swim" in the "sea of ideas."

I've noticed of late, that when the discussion is of scores (or scoring), everyone wades in. But when the conversation gets deeper, it's "Everyone out of the pool!"

The requests (sometimes outraged demands...) come for a "simplification" – to make the content easier. "You guys used a term I don't get, a word I never heard; a reference I've never contemplated! How dare you? Make it simpler so I can understand it!" Perhaps they're saying, "I can't swim?” Or perhaps they’re saying, “I won’t try.”

While it’s reasonable and responsible to simplify; as Einstein said, “As simple as possible, but not simpler.” We believe the acquisition of knowledge is a two-sided responsibility – for both the teacher and the student to reach for a connection in the middle.

Certainly, the deep end is murky, but the added color, nuance, flavor and sophistication of deeper ideas makes pursuing them worthwhile. It can be scary to find yourself "in over your head.” Yet, sounding the "deep philosophy" is an adventure – which takes years of learning and practice "Hanging with the Masters."

I'm not Einstein. Yet it seems that both with water and ideas, the point is not to sit there, but to dive in and learn. Don't ask to make it simpler! Ask instead how you can become deep enough to understand.

Don't just sit there, SWIM!