I see it kind of like innovation, a lot of it is very average but needs to be developed in order to find the exceptional.
Exactly so. I see development in my journal all the time. Like most readers, sometimes I even go back to see the differences.
Do you ever get the feeling that at least the baby steps toward developing these skills should be introduced much, much earlier in life. Why should wisdom be for the aged alone? :D
There is no doubt that I'd have been better served by learning these skills than much of the work I did in school. I actually use very little of my schooling, except as a basis for learning more.
I'm certainly not going to say that 'what I can' isn't open for examination and improvement. Just that from time to time 'what I can' is better, way better than 'I think I might'.
The strangest thing for most is, they don't actually teach how to learn, just what to learn. Imagine a student that spent the formative years learning how to learn and then, how quickly they could complete secondary, tertiary and whatever other studies they do.