Knowing limits

The moment you talk about limits, you are necessarily seen as an old fogy. I mean, it is generally the aged who start feeling limited in what they can do. The young generally feel that there is no limit to what they can do. Which, by the way, is not untrue of me, after all. I am no spring chicken, no matter what they say about 'Sixty being the new twenty' or whatever is the catchphrase these days. But, whatever the young may feel, limits exist for everyone.

Tiru, another old fogy, has this to say:

Nunikkombu erinaar aqdiran thookkin uyirkkirudhi aagi vidum - Tirukkural

If the man who has climbed to the tip of a branch attempts to climb further, it will spell the end of his life - Loose Translation

For once, Tiru just states the metaphor trusting his readers' intelligence to understand the lesson that needs to be derived from it. That, if you have the reached the limit of possible progress, to attempt more is certain suicide.

And at once there is a clamor. That this is conservative, this is how all progress is stymied, yada yada. Not really true. I mean, like, if there is a cargo boat and you have loaded it to the limit, of course you'll be told that you ought not to load any more lest the boat sink. Which IS legitimate advice that HAS to be heeded. Now, does it limit the amount of cargo you can ship? Not at all, not if you can find more boats. Does it mean that there is a permanent limit on how much cargo can be shipped per boat? Not if you can design a bigger or better boat.

In other words, the fact that a known solution poses a limit to what you can do does not mean that you cannot find a solution that allows you to do more. The point, however, is that you have to acknowledge the limit posed by the current solution and not blindly insist on loading the existing boat with more cargo. OR, as in Tiru's metaphor, attempt to climb further after reaching the tip of the branch that you are climbing.

To acknowledge limits is not to cease to persist in solving your problem. It is only a caution to avoid butting your head persistently in a dead end!