Kevin Vogelsang

I’ve alluded to Hunter vs Farmer Theory somewhat before.  It’s time I brought up the concept directly.

The basic idea: at some point, humans diverged.  Some became farmers.  Others remained hunters.  This created an important dichotomy of characteristics found in people.

Of course, people aren’t simply one or the other.  An individual’s characteristics exist within a multi-dimensional, continuous spectrum of possible characteristics. However, the Theory provides an excellent framework for thinking about the neurological differences in people.

The Theory is particularly interesting because it highlights society’s failure (particularly our education system’s) to understand the neurodiversity of humans, and how society often only admires a limited set of characteristics, while disregarding other valuable traits that are naively considered to be “deficiencies”.

The wikipedia page is a good primer.  Here’s Hartmann’s illustration of the Theory by placing ADD “deficiencies” in juxtaposition to their value when placed in a different perspective/context.

On a similar topic, also check out Sir Ken Robinson’s TED Talk on society’s failure to make use of the full potential of the vast array of intelligences humans exhibit.

Think about it.

-Kevin
3.3.2010

Education through athletics is incredibly undervalued.

In school, I played varsity basketball, ran track, and played football.  I started playing because it’s what my friends did, I thought I could be good at it, and I wanted to compete.

Eventually in college, I realized athletics was the most important piece of my overall education.  I didn’t fully realize this until a sales class that I took at Sloan.  Bill Aulet was talking about hiring, and one of the main things he wondered about people was “did they play competitive sports?”

In US high schools, class room learning just isn’t that good.  You learn next to nothing about yourself, teamwork, leadership, politics, and performance. You certainly don’t learn toughness.

In the US, athletics is the only arena where performance is closely measured.  There’s stats on everything.  Through the entire education system, it’s also the only arena where you’re judged on your performance.  If you aren’t performing, you lose your job or your starting position.  This is important.

For nearly 20 years, I poured the majority of my energy and focus into athletics.  And it took me 20 years to realize the educational value–the value of understanding the athlete’s mindset.

It always pains me to hear people tell kids that they need to focus on classwork.  Our education system is full of flaws.  But I think one thing we need to value more is motivation. If a student enjoys something (anything) and is willing to work hard it, push them forward.  They’ll learn more doing that than half-ass reading Great Expectations and Frankenstein.  When it comes to valuable experience, my time as an athlete is the most important experience I’ve had, even more important than MIT or any work experience.  It’s where I learned all the core skills everyone should learn.

For business, particularly for startups, the competitive sports team is the closest experience you can get in school: You pick your team and go find a way to win.

-Kevin
2.2.2010

Being good at “talking to girls” is an important skill in life.  But, I don’t say this for the reasons you’re probably thinking.

I’ve been going to a lot of meetups and networking events lately, which led me to a few thoughts about social events.

The nature of social events really doesn’t change all that much as you get older.  Some people are talkative.  Some are more reserved.  Some groups mix well.  Some don’t.  These personalities all come to the party to create an interesting set of interactions.

And while the basic nature doesn’t change all that much, the goals/value of social events does evolve.  In middle school and high school, you could say the value of social events are to learn basic social skills (or something like that).  In college, events are more about having fun and meeting members of the opposite sex.  After college, you start seeing more events that are meant to also further business goals.

At a recent networking event, I was briefly contemplating how to get a friend an introduction to a business contact of mine.  For some reason, I realized I was playing the role of the “wing-man”, except in a different context.  Consequently, I then had another realization: being good at “talking to women” (or your preferred sex) is a valuable skill set.  (I think the slang term “hitting on” gets to my meaning more clearly, but I didn’t want to send the wrong message.)

Specifically, I’m referring to being skilled at meeting that one person  you really want to talk to and connect with in a meaningful way.  Now of course, the reason I analogize this skill to “talking to women” is simply because, as a male, this is the first version of this type of competitive social game that I encountered in my life.  Many versions exist.  The point is, being able to connect with that one person in the room that is significant to you (and likely others) is important.

So I guess you could say “talking to” members of your preferred sex is an important part of an education.  And going through this exercise hones skills that have tangible value  in your professional life, if you’re paying attention.

Kevin
10.22.09