Learning Not To Shrink by Kurrupt68

February 4, 2026 | Reading Time: 7 min

There’s this thing that happens so quietly you don’t notice it at first.

A new lab drops and before you even read the description or take a look, you’ve already decided “I won’t be able to solve this.” Someone on Twitter posts a critical they found in a program and your first thought isn’t curiosity, it’s a closed door. “I can’t do that.” A course comes up in uni and you’re not thinking about what you’ll learn, you’re calculating the minimum grade to not fail.