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When do you explore and when do you exploit?
Let's .. uhm .. explore this together, shall we?
Perhaps like me, you have used an app to look for the fastest route to a particular destination. The restaurant with the best reviews is where you're heading to for lunch. You're tracking the number of steps taken up to the present on your fitness tracking device, which also helps you monitor the calories consumed and burnt.
These are just some examples of how we exploit the resources at hand to get the best results. It makes us feel we're at our most efficient because we cut out wastage, optimise our performance and have access to the best. We know exactly what we're in for, we know what we want.
We can also take a more meandering route, not being in a particular hurry to reach the destination, perhaps being even open to changing the destination if it so comes to that. The route opens up so many possibilities to explore. We take our chances going into a little known eatery delighting in making a discovery. And perhaps we forget about measuring pulse rates and steps, so that we notice the squirrels scampering up tree trunks and the new mushrooms that grew after the previous day's rain.
In these examples we embrace the uncertainties and randomness of the unknown. In exploring, we experiment. Perhaps we like the results, perhaps not. Each day offers new discoveries.
Do you see the exploiter or explorer in yourself? I invite you to explore a lesson with me.
Note: If you enjoyed the idea above, you'll like reading Brian Klaas and his newsletter, Garden of Forking Paths available for subscription on Substack. I referenced his post, "Experiment with Everything" for today.
Postscript added on 8 Oct 2023: Note: Thank you to those who have written to let me know you enjoy reading my column but daren't take a lesson because there are parts you don't really understand. I assure you we'll always speak at a level which suits you so that we can enjoy a casual conversation. Also, we can go through words and sentences that are difficult so that we learn together. Perhaps, they will be easy then and we'll always have something to talk about. No stress!
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