From Medusa and the Snail by the physician-writer Lewis Thomas
“Mistakes are at the very base of human thought, embedded there, feeding the structure like root nodules. If we were not provided with the knack of being wrong, we could never get anything useful done. We think our way along by choosing between right and wrong alternatives, and the wrong choices have to be made as frequently as the right ones.
We get along in life this way. We are built to make mistakes, coded for error. We learn, as we say, by “trial and error.” Why do we always say that? Why not “trial and rightness” or “trial and triumph”? The old phrase puts it that way because that is, in real life, the way it is done.”
How true all this is and yet how often we forget it! Let’s unpack these words of wisdom and see where they take us:
Mistakes are part of being human: When we make a mistake, we join the human club, because we all make errors, poor decisions, bloopers, and have to reorient ourselves and move forward. As Thomas says so well, “we are built to make mistakes, coded for error.”
Mistakes propel us forward: Without mistakes, we wouldn’t get “anything useful done.” The push us forward when we are forced to choose between right and wrong options.
Mistakes help us learn: As humans, we learn by “trial and error”—by choosing wrong paths and then setting ourselves straight and getting back on the right track.
Mistakes keep us curious: They inspire and instruct. They invite us to figure out new and better ways to get where we want to go. They keep our brains young and our minds supple. They fuel or forward motion.
Wow, it’s so heartening and such a relief to think that mistakes are part of the game—part of the writing life we love and embrace. When we remember this, it takes the sting out of it all, doesn’t it? Sometime soon you’re going to make an error—maybe even a doozy—we all do! And when it happens to us, let’s remind ourselves that it’s part of being human, part of moving forward, part of your learning curve. And then, let’s all write on!
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