From Audrey Tang's "Out-of-the-Box Thinking" to Adult Learning's "Talent and Passion": How to Piece Together Your Ideal Self-Pursuit with 20% White Space?

I recently read Audrey Tang's Out-of-the-Box Thinking, and many of the viewpoints reminded me of the core concepts often discussed in my long-followed podcast Adult Learning (大人學)—how to find your "talent and passion" and carve out a path that truly belongs to you in career and life.

For too long, we have been constrained by the mainstream society's logic of "subtraction and exclusion." From childhood, mainstream education teaches us to fight for first or second place, fill test papers completely, and pursue competitive rankings. However, during her teenage years, Audrey Tang chose to leave her test papers blank and opt out of the ranking game. This was not a surrender, but an active choice of "white space." This way of thinking aligns perfectly with Adult Learning's emphasis on "discovering your talent and passion," serving as a clear beacon in a confusing career journey.

When Talent and Passion Meet the 20% Rule: Leaving White Space for Ideals in Reality¶

Adult Learning often emphasizes that only by combining our talent and passion can we find long-term motivation and value in our work. In reality, however, it's rare to step into the workplace and immediately find a job that fits 100% perfectly. Here, the "20% Rule" mentioned by Audrey Tang in her book (modeled after Google's policy allowing employees to spend 20% of their time exploring projects of interest) becomes the best practical tool.

We should view our current work environment as a "partner," using 80% of our energy to stabilize our foundation and contribute to society, while reserving the remaining 20% of our time entirely to explore personal pursuits or interests. This 20% of time doesn't need immediate output, nor does it need to meet anyone's KPIs; it exists purely for your passion and curiosity.

Reflecting on the Arrogance and Monopoly of Technology: Sharing Diffuses Value¶

Another passage in the book reflects on AI: "We shouldn't say that the remaining 1% of people are not human just because AI makes accurate judgments for 99% of people." When modern society excessively pursues efficiency and algorithmic precision, it easily excludes the 1% marginal group that falls outside the normal distribution curve. This "exclusive" competition is the exact root of modern anxiety.

To break out of this box, the core lies in "sharing." Mainstream thinking dictates that we should work behind closed doors and accumulate private assets to remain competitive. But the open-source spirit is the opposite—generously publishing half-baked thoughts, rough drafts, or unresolved work bottlenecks on shared platforms. Audrey Tang is known for writing down the reasons why she cannot resolve a problem, allowing anyone to see it, which in turn allows the right partner to step in. This upends the vanity of "having to show a perfect finished product," because: is what we wanted to accumulate in the past actually valuable? Or is it that sharing it to let its value diffuse is where real value lies?

The Zhuangzi philosophy of "usefulness of uselessness" cited by Audrey Tang is a higher-level reminder: first find out what you want to do, and then explore how you can contribute to society. Do not put the cart before the horse by stifling your talent and passion just to cater to society's definition of "useful."

Conclusion: A Path Forward Without Fighting for Rankings¶

Synthesizing the philosophy of Out-of-the-Box Thinking and the practical mindset of Adult Learning:

Stop blindly entering the ranking competition of the mainstream public, and stop obsessing over filling out every test paper handed down by society. By aligning your main career with your talent and passion, and supplementing it with the 20% rule of autonomous exploration, you can find a balance between self-pursuit and social value, allowing your most comfortable and unique self to grow in the white spaces of life.