Mistakes as Discovery

Discussing the benefits of mistakes, this Kathryn Schulz keynote argues that to deny being wrong interferes with progress and improvement.

In theory people are very good at accepting that they make mistakes; however, in practice individuals often become very defensible when their ideas are threatened to be wrong. Making up data to support one's argument, finding excuses for why one's idea is wrong or becoming hostile are common reactions after making an error. If this is how individuals react to trivial things, how will they respond when serious matters are at hand?

Rather than being assured by a deep feeling of certainty, Kathryn Schulz says that "the more people you can recruit to see if you're wrong, the better off you are." One generation's idea of an absolute truism often turns out to be a later generation's idea of folly or falsehood. Mistakes are necessary in order for people to revise and expand their understanding of the world.