Seth Godin, “Art and Science and Making Things” at World Maker Faire 2012

Seth Godin is one of the most interesting people I know. He’s a popular business consultant, speaker, and the author of a number of books that challenge accepted beliefs and reveal surprising — and potentially life-changing — truths. Example:

“Here’s the truth you have to wrestle with: the reason that art (writing, engaging, leading, all of it) is valuable is precisely why I can’t tell you how to do it. If there were a map, there’d be no art, because art is the act of navigating without a map. Don’t you hate that? I love that there’s no map.” ― Seth Godin, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

Here’s Seth at World Maker New York 2012 giving a talk called “Art and Science and Making Things.” I tried to attend, but the auditorium was jam packed, and there wasn’t even standing room. Luckily, there’s a video of Seth’s talk. Here’s Seth’s description:

The industrialist mindset of productivity and predictable perfection has infected all elements of our lives, from school to science. Once you see it, you’ll understand how it pushes us to avoid the hard work of doing truly interesting science, and how it encourages us to avoid the maker mindset. In this informal talk, I’ll try to get under your skin, at least a little, about what’s at stake.

I agree with Seth that chemistry sets and “101 electronic project” kits aren’t about making, because making means “learning by doing things wrong,” which is an idea I explored at length in my book, Made By Hand.