Theory and practice
purity
There is always a tension between Theory and Practice. These two separate realms are connected through a process of abstraction and application. To explain this relationship by way of theory, Theory deterritorializes Practice, and Practice reterritorializes Theory: a Theory which is a becoming-Practice and a Practice which is a becoming-Theory. To explain this relationship by way of practice, Theory is abstracted Practice, and Practice is applied Theory.
Thereâs an age-old problem with this particular relationship: those who specialize in Practice often claim that those who specialize in Theory are detached from the âreal world,â ie, the world of Practice. Those who specialize in Theory often claim that those who specialize in Practice have no fundamental understanding of what they do, and this leads to contradictory, incongruous practices.
Thereâs a third kind of person, though: one that embodies the becoming, the abstraction/application process. These people are a conduit, fundamentally bridging the two worlds. Thereâs a certain art to explaining just the core of Theory in the words of someone who Practices, and thereâs a certain art to combining the essences of Practices and presenting it to those who Theorize. Building this bridge is an act of creation, of building, an opening of space.
Some people are great at Ivory Tower intellectual stuff, and others just donât really care. It sucks, because those who are doing could be way better at it if they just knew some theory, and those who love to philosophize all day might be more understandable if theyâd just actually do something sometimes.
The only way you can get these two camps to talk to each other is to figure out what the theory says that provides value to those who practice. Practice-ers are ruthlessly focused on value, so to get through to them, you have to speak their language. On the flip side, theorists understand that practicers donât care too much about the theory, but love seeing their thoughts to go good use, and can appreciate when practicers stumble across flaws in their thought. So demonstrating how practicers produce contradictions in the theory can be really useful to theorists.
If youâre this kind of person, accept that youâre in many ways a jack of all trades, but a master of none. Of sorts, anyway. Theorists will sometimes hate you for not grokking every last detail and reference, and practical people will argue that you donât do enough useful things. Donât listen to either of them; you know that youâre part of neither camp, so it makes sense that they both find âflaws.â Youâre awesome because you know a bit of both, and can facilitate communication which makes both better. A force multiplier.
You have to remember that while youâre building things, thereâs an underlying set of rules that youâre implicitly following, but itâs more important to act than it is to memorize a bunch of rules, and try to analyze what youâre doing according to them. If all you do is think all day, youâll never get anything done. Things may go wrong, but you can always fix it later. Other people can sit around and theorize about what youâre doing, leave them to it.
Mental masturbation is fun and all, but when all is said and done, developing a culture of shipping is one of the most important things you can do. Those who canât do, teach. History is written by the victors.
On occasion, youâll run into someone who can actually explain complicated theory stuff to you in an accessible way. If you find someone like this, make sure to hold onto them closely, as theyâre really rare. But they can help provide you with some insight that will really boost your productivity, without having to invest all the time in figuring out all that wankery that the priests of theory love.
âIn theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.â - Yogi Berra