I used to air dry all of my shirts, hanging them on a drying rack, the shower curtain rod, and the backs of chairs. It saves electricity and wear and tear on the shirts themselves. At least that’s what I told myself.

The real reason is that my shirts always shrank. So if I wanted them to keep fitting, I needed to air dry them.

Now I put most everything in the dryer. Why? A combination of things.

1. Hanging a lot of clothes inside takes up a lot of space. It also requires many things to hang the clothes from. As processes go, it became less and less workable. And who wants clothes everywhere for hours upon hours?
2. I lost weight. Suddenly, I didn’t have to worry about my t-shirts getting too tight. I just have to keep them from getting too short.

But the real reason is that I was used to running everything on hot. When I realized I could run it a little longer on low and my clothes didn’t shrink, it was a revelation.

I imagine most people knew this. But after decades of coin-operated dryers and laundromats, hot is more cost-effective. And those suckers get hot.

This wasn’t just learning what everybody else already knows. It meant going against everything I experienced.

This is what we underestimate about learning. That it requires us to also reject something we thought was necessary.