Succisa Virescit: The Cut That Makes Us Grow

"There's an old Latin phrase that has stayed with me lately: Succisa virescit. The translation roughly means, "When cut down, we grow back stronger." Originally the sixth-century motto of the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino, it reflects a simple but profound truth about the human condition-growth often begins in the aftermath of loss. What was once a call to spiritual and physical resilience has become, for me, a powerful metaphor for cognition itself,"

"In education, we've always known that growth doesn't just happen in the moments of clarity; it happens in the moments of confusion. It's the student wrestling with a difficult concept, the scientist facing failed experiments, the writer staring at a blank page. These are the "cuts" from which we grow back stronger. Friction, frustration, and failure aren't obstacles to learning; they are learning itself."

"And today, it's the motto of one of the leading schools in the United States, The Delbarton School. And it got me thinking: Why does a dusty Latin phrase from a sixth-century monastery still feel so urgent and relevant in an age of AI? My sense is that it speaks to something that technology, for all its brilliance, still doesn't understand. And that's the necessity of struggle."

Succisa virescit — "When cut down, we grow back stronger" — frames growth as arising from loss and repair. Growth often happens in confusion, failure, and frustration rather than moments of instant clarity. Students, scientists, and writers develop cognitive endurance by wrestling with difficult problems and recovering from setbacks. Friction and failure trigger neurotransmitters like dopamine and acetylcholine that direct attention and strengthen memory. Artificial intelligence and large language models can provide fluency without failure, risking removal of productive struggle. Educators face a paradox: protecting learners from discouragement while preserving the necessary pain that yields deeper learning and resilience.

Read at Psychology Today