“There are no rules here; we are trying to accomplish something.”
– Thomas A. Edison, American inventor and businessman

“I’m going to need you to redo this assignment.”

“Redo it?” I replied. “Why? What’s wrong with it?”

“What’s not wrong?” she said. “Grammar, spelling – punctuation.”

It was high school. I had handed in an English assignment that I thought was creative, inspiring and generally quite brilliant. Admittedly, I’d play fast and loose with the rules of good composition, but I was feeling the creative impulse and let it carry me much too far away.

“This is sloppy work,” she admonished. “You’re capable of much better.”