The Power of Iteration: Lessons from Kindergarteners and Building Websites
So, I watched this really cool TED Talk by Tom Wujec called "Build a tower, build a team" and it got me thinking about how important iteration is in everything we do. In the video, they had this challenge where different groups - kindergarteners, CEOs, business students - had to build the tallest structure using just spaghetti noodles and marshmallows. Guess who won? The kindergarteners!
Now, you might be wondering, how the heck did a bunch of 5-year-olds beat out CEOs and business school grads? Well, it turns out, the secret was in their approach. The business folks were all caught up in finding the perfect solution right off the bat. They spent ages planning and discussing, trying to come up with the one "right" way to do it. But the kindergarteners? They just went for it. They'd build something, it would fall, and they'd be like, "Okay, let's try again!" No tears, no drama, just straight back to building.
This idea of not being afraid to fail and try again - that's what iteration is all about. And it's stuck with me for a long time. It's made me realize that sometimes, starting from scratch isn't as scary as it seems. In fact, it can lead to some pretty awesome results.
Take my personal website, for example. I've always wanted to code it myself instead of using one of those generic website builders. But here's the thing - I'm not exactly a web development god. So, my first attempt? Total disaster. It looked awful on mobile, and I was just not happy with it.
But then, a friend told me about Bootstrap, and I was like, "Cool, let's give this a shot." So I scrapped everything and started over. I thought I was done, but nope, still wasn't satisfied. So I deleted it all again. This happened five times. Five times I deleted days and weeks of work.
But here's the kicker - each time I rebuilt it, I learned something new. I looked at other people's websites for inspiration, I figured out how to make things work better on different screens. And then, on the sixth try, something clicked. I started at 9 PM one night, coded for 3 hours, woke up at 7 AM the next day (yeah, on a Saturday), and by 11 AM, I had a website I was actually proud of.
Now, someone looking at the final product might think, "Oh, you're just talented" or "You probably just used AI to do it all." But they don't see the other five attempts. They don't see the days I spent learning about code structures, figuring out how to link different parts together. All that work, all those "unsatisfactory" attempts, they all led to those six hours where everything finally came together.
So here's the takeaway: don't think that working on small projects or having to start over is meaningless. Every time you iterate, every time you delete and start again, you're learning. You're getting better. And eventually, you'll reach a point where you go to sleep satisfied with what you've created.
Remember, it's not about getting it perfect the first time. It's about being willing to try, fail, learn, and try again. That's the power of iteration. And if a bunch of kindergarteners can use it to beat CEOs at tower building, imagine what you can do with it in your own life and projects.
The video from Tom Wujec: https://www.ted.com/talks/tom_wujec_build_a_tower_build_a_team
— Dictated by Shreyash, Written by Perplexity
This is truly inspiring.