TLDR; Today’s 4th graders are freakishly smart compared to my generation
Every year my cousin asks me if I’ll speak to her 4th grade class about the invention process and being an entrepreneur, and every year I say yes, which is immediately followed by the I-have-no-idea-what-to-say-to-10-year-olds-nerves.
What if I say something I shouldn’t, or worse, what if I sound old and out of touch!
And every year it turns out I should’ve instead been worried about “what if their questions are too hard.”
The whole thing is about an hour, 20-30 minutes of backstory on Earhoox and physical product invention, a little bit on my job in venture capital investing in software ‘inventions,’ and a little bit about what seems new and cool in the world. Then they ask about 30 minutes of questions, and let me tell you… these kids bring the heat.
If you haven’t spoken to a 10 year old lately, and you’ve been beating up the education system, let me just tell you, kids today are freakishly smart compared to my generation’s 4th graders. I also personally think it’s abundantly obvious that the creator economy + software is coming to change everything.
Here are some examples of their questions…
How do you arrive at your pricing, is it based on profit margin, demand, or competition?
What do you do if your team isn’t doing a good job?
How do you handle negative feedback?
What does it cost to start a company, and how do you get the money?
How do you come up with new ideas, and how do you know if they’re good?
So now combine that intellectual curiosity with access to nearly infinite online resources, and couple it with creative outlets like TikTok, Twitch, Patreon, the gig economy & freelance tools, not to mention YouTube, and tell me you don’t think the self-reliant revolution is coming.
These kids are smarter than we ever were. They have more tools then we ever did. The process is easier and more accessible than it ever was. They believe anything is possible—and it is. To me, that’s a pretty clear recipe for massive and sweeping decentralization of everything. Given the choice of autonomy and creativity vs. control and process, wouldn’t you take the former?
That’s a real question this generation will be faced with when deciding how to spend their lives.
If you’re one of those the-sky-is-falling pessimists, go spend an hour with 4th graders and a venture capitalist. Or check out Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker. The future has never been more interesting.
See you Monday.