A Curious Idiot
Expertise can be dangerous.
Sometimes, knowing too much about a subject can be counter-productive if you are trying to teach it. What might look obvious to you could be utterly incomprehensible to others.
A pain point I am familiar with, as I am currently diving deep into geometry nodes.
So much maths, and I'm not good at maths.
Instructors assume this stuff is basic, but if they are showing me a math operator I'm not familiar with, such as Modulo, I have no idea what led them to the choice they made. The thought process is too alien to me.
A lot of technical training falls into this trap. Making assumptions that artists can think like engineers. Most of us have very little mathematical training. I wouldn't know the difference between a modulo and a pedalo.
Just look at the Blender documentation for endless examples of this. Written by engineers, incomprehensible to artists.
But my job is to make this stuff accessible, which means deconstructing the maths and explaining it in simple terms. This is the beating heart of teaching: to unpack complex topics and make them understandable.
I came across an interview with graphic designer Mike Monteiro, in which he said: The secret to being good at anything is to approach it like a curious idiot rather than a know-it-all genius.
Curiosity and openness are the keys to learning, and perhaps paradoxically, also the keys to teaching. As an instructor it is crucial to remember what it feels like to be a beginner, and explain the fundamentals. Otherwise, your students might get lost, or even worse, give up.
An idea made famous by the Zen concept of Shoshin, or Beginner's Mind: an attitude of openness, eagerness, and a lack of preconceptions. The best way to learn, to be engaged, and to avoid hubris is to approach any subject as if you know nothing about it.
Or as Steve Jobs famously said (no doubt borrowing from the Zen concept): Stay hungry. Stay Foolish.
Substitute the word "curious" for the word "hungry", and it looks eerily similar to the quote by Mike Monteiro above. No plagiarism involved, both men simply reached the same conclusion from their years in the trenches.
The teacher, like the student and the practitioner, needs to keep the flame of curiosity alive. To break down the complex and unfamiliar so that it becomes approachable. To grasp those difficult concepts and simplify them.
If I don't understand Modulo, how can I possibly explain it to you?
Luckily, I'm more of a curious idiot than a know-it-all genius.
Stay hungry, stay foolish.