The "grid" concept in itself was an epiphany for me. We build these neat, rectangular, discrete boxes over a continuous universe; not that structure is not useful, but sometimes, we may need different shaped lines and boxes- those that can deform to the variability.
Ultimately, the Earth is a curved surface. Thus, at a certain scale, Euclidean geometry is inadequate- for example, navigation. It would appear that Euclidean geometry can "fail" much sooner than that if Hamilton, Ontario is any indicator. Tilings provide a unique solution in that at least some of them can be constructed from straight, rectangular (i.e. Euclidean) primitives.
I found the allegorical interpretation of the "grid" to be both pause-worthy AND insightful on indiginization. The way I see it, escaping the grid, as I would like to call it, is, at its root, about promoting metacognition, from which flexibility and humility, the virtues that seem to be advocated by concepts such as the "native American summer" and "only the Great Spirit is perfect", follow. Ultimately, might really does not make right: sure, you managed to produce cookie-cutter workers with at least some kind of competency, and you even managed to vanquish the natives, but does that really make everything about your education system inherently "above" the native American approach? They may be lacking in military might, but they may have a good point in other aspects of life- get off the grid and open up your mind a bit.
Thanks for your authentic response to several elements of this article!
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