When you're first learning any new skill, it's easier to reach out to a fellow newbie than an "expert." As we gain experience, we seek out a more experienced crowd.

Growers' Myopia is a condition that affects most growers after the first few cycles, when they stop feeling like a "beginner."

When you see yourself as a beginner, you feel more comfortable around beginners. As your perception changes, so does the company you keep.

2 Reasons Why Growers' Myopia Exists:

• Experienced growers (at or above your level) share a level of understanding. You don't have to explain the context or nuances of what your main points are just to get to the main point. (Ex. You don't have to explain what EC is to discuss how the EC of your runoff was out of wack; you can simply discuss the runoff issue).

• As you gain experience, you seek out more advanced knowledge and understand, often found in increasingly experienced mentors. It's easy to replace a less valuable source of information with a more valuable one. (Ex. your buddy with a closet grow is no longer your go-to expert on everything; you now have connections to mentors with specific expertise).

Growers' Myopia leads us to spend less time processing what we know, and more time pursuing what we don't, when a balance between the two is essential.

Spending time with beginners strengthens our ability to explain and retain what we've learned to date.

Having to articulate in a way that someone with less experience can understand challenges our own interpretations and applications of the knowledge we gain.

Plus, it's good karma to help others who are in the same place you once were.