I have found that embracing being dumb can be very useful even later on. I don't struggle with programming anymore, to the point where that "out of my depth" fe

I have found that embracing being dumb can be very useful even later on. I don't struggle with programming anymore, to the point where that "out of my depth" feeling is surprising and scary. Occasionally I run into some new concept I have no experience with and I sit there staring at it like an idiot thinking "why do I not get this?" It takes a little while to remember that I'm comparing many years of experience and study to something I just started learning, and the feeling of being overwhelmed is natural. I suspect many people get used to feeling competent once they've developed competence in one area. The problem is that, as described in the article, the need to feel competent gets in the way of developing competence in anything new. I think one reason children learn so well is that they haven't yet developed competence in any area, so it's hard for them to expect competence in every area. I have no end of admiration for the way a child will look you dead in the eye and say "I don't know what that means" like it's the most natural thing in the world.