Rules are beneficial because they give constraint, but it is in stretching that we grow (Robert's Rule #21)

[Tweeted 2011-07-17]

As an engineer, you have to be familiar with rules – mathematical formulas, design rules, data normalization rules, language rules, et cetera, et cetera. We're so familiar with rules that we could not imagine living without them, and if someone breaks a rule, we have other engineers dedicated to quality to identify those instances so they can be remedied.

So, if we're always following rules, how can we innovate or invent new things? We do both by stretching. In infinite diversity in infinite combinations (IDIC) creativity gains its full strength. Creativity is the basis of both innovation and invention.

If we consider, then, that our creativity is a muscle, we can think of the rules governing our environment to be the resistance against which we exercise that muscle. Much like our physical muscle is toned and built in striving against gravity by climbing a mountain, our creative muscle is toned and increased in striving against the 'rules'. Of course this exercise requires that you be familiar with what rules you strive against as well as how those rules impact your environment, for instance, if we didn't understand how gravity worked, we would not be able to effectively exercise our physical muscles.

In this analogy, we see can that rules are beneficial because they give constraint, but it is in stretching that we grow (Robert's Rule #21). So, go and create.