{"id":14476,"date":"2022-09-06T07:48:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-06T15:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/?p=14476"},"modified":"2022-11-21T04:18:26","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T12:18:26","slug":"failure-lousy-teacher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2022\/09\/06\/failure-lousy-teacher\/","title":{"rendered":"Failure is a Lousy Teacher"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s a common opinion that we learn more from failure than success.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe wisdom of learning from failure is incontrovertible,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2011\/04\/strategies-for-learning-from-failure\">Harvard Business Review<\/a>. Learning from failure \u201cfosters creativity\u201d and helps you \u201cbecome more resilient,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.business.com\/articles\/learning-from-failure\/\">another essay<\/a>. When Thomas Edison was asked if he was disappointed with his lack of results in finding a workable lightbulb filament, he replied, \u201cI have gotten a lot of results! I know several thousand things that won\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Here, though, the feel-good opinion is wrong.<\/p>\n<p>We generally don\u2019t learn more from failure than success. In cases where there is value in mistakes, failure is followed quickly by success, rather than prolonged struggle. The reason is simple math.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Success, Failure and Information Theory<\/h2>\n<div class=\"inline-podcast\">\n<small>Listen to this article<\/small><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"20\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/1382765383&#038;color=%23219895&#038;inverse=false&#038;auto_play=false&#038;show_user=true\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>That we generally learn more from success than failure is evident from the principles of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Information_theory\">information theory<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Information theory was developed in the 1940s by mathematician Claude Shannon. The basic idea is that information is the reduction of uncertainty. Consider flipping a coin. Before I flip, there is an equal chance the outcome will be heads or tails. After the flip, I know only one of those results occurred\u2014this halving of uncertainty results in one bit of information I didn\u2019t have before.<\/p>\n<p>The information gained from flipping a coin is symmetrical. Heads and tails are equally likely, so I learn the same amount from experiencing either event.<\/p>\n<p>This doesn\u2019t hold if one outcome is far more likely than another. If I try to open a 40-number combination lock with a random, 3-digit code, my chance of opening it is only one in 64,000. Failure here only reduces the space of possibilities by one\u2014hardly any information at all. In contrast, if I had opened the lock successfully, I would have eliminated any remaining uncertainty.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure1-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14482\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure1-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure1-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure1-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure1-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure1.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>In the combination-lock example, success teaches you far, far more than failure.<\/p>\n<p>Running a business is like finding a combination that opens a lock. You need the right mixture of product, team, marketing, and customer needs to have a successful outcome. Failure is more likely than success\u2014most products and businesses underperform or fail outright. Thus, you gain exponentially more information about what works when you find a hit than you do with a misfire.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, failure can be highly instructive in some domains. Plane crashes happen rarely, so when one does occur, much potential information can be gleaned about the source of the disaster. Our knowledge of piloting is so advanced that successful takeoffs and landings don\u2019t reduce uncertainty by much at all.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, this doesn\u2019t mean a pilot learns to fly by crashing a lot. When you start flying a plane, most settings of the controls would result in a crash if unfixed. It\u2019s simply that, society as a whole benefits from thorough investigation of plane crashes because trained pilots rarely have such severe mistakes.<\/p>\n<p>Most domains of learning are like the novice pilot, entrepreneur or combination-lock. There are far fewer conditions that enable success than those that allow for failure. Thus, learning what works imparts far more information than learning what doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Edison\u2019s optimism, his learning process would have ended immediately had he started with tungsten instead of trying out thousands of materials that ultimately didn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n<p>Studies on <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full\/10.3102\/00346543211019105\">productive failure<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/eric.ed.gov\/?id=ED574569\">learning from errors<\/a> find benefits to making mistakes in learning\u2014if those mistakes are promptly corrected. When a successful example or corrective feedback immediately follows every failure, the information difference between success and failure is eliminated.<\/p>\n<p>Outside a classroom, failure is seldom followed by a lesson telling you exactly how you should have done it.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What About Emotions? Failure Discourages Effort<\/h2>\n<p>Perhaps I\u2019m being too coolly rational in my analysis here. Don\u2019t emotions factor into learning as well? Isn\u2019t failure a great teacher emotionally, even if it doesn\u2019t provide informative lessons?<\/p>\n<p>Here too, the boon of learning from failure is overstated.<\/p>\n<p>Failure is discouraging. Experiencing consistent failure lowers motivation. In extreme cases, it can lead to <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Learned_helplessness\">learned helplessness<\/a>, and you stop trying even when success is plausible.<\/p>\n<p>Success, in contrast, is motivating. It builds <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Self-efficacy\">self-efficacy<\/a> and confidence, which are related to greater motivation in learning. If you experience success in early mathematics, it boosts your confidence when attempting higher mathematics, so you\u2019re more likely to persist when you experience setbacks.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure2-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure2-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure2-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure2-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure2-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure2.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>What about grit and perseverance? They matter, but it\u2019s important not to confuse the right way to process failures (persistence) with the idea that failure itself makes us better.<\/p>\n<p>Grit comes from the belief that, despite current failures, success will be forthcoming. Where does such a belief come from? I\u2019d argue that it comes from a background of confidence, either from your own past successes or from witnessing or learning from others\u2019 successes.<\/p>\n<p>The idea that failure is inherently character-building seems dubious to me. Repeated failure requires\u2014but it doesn\u2019t build\u2014grit. It\u2019s experiencing success after persisting through failure that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2020\/11\/02\/motivation\/#07-05\">reinforces perseverance<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure3-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure3-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure3-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure3-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure3-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure3.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>Only taking on easy problems doesn\u2019t impart grit. But neither does consistent failure on hard problems. It\u2019s taking on challenging problems AND succeeding in them that matters.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Overlearning from Failures<\/h2>\n<p>Maybe you think I\u2019ve missed the point.<\/p>\n<p>The point isn\u2019t that failure is inherently valuable\u2014either emotionally or informationally\u2014but that we can\u2019t always control when we experience failure. Thus we should adopt a positive attitude towards it.<\/p>\n<p>In this case, I agree. Failure and mistakes are often unavoidable. To the extent that we can have a healthy attitude, I think leaning toward perseverance is generally wise. (Although persisting in doomed projects is an underappreciated problem.)<\/p>\n<p>However, there\u2019s another danger of advice like this\u2014we can easily overlearn from failures.<\/p>\n<p>Many failures are like our combination-lock example: the specific thing we tried didn\u2019t work. It would be disastrous to infer, after guessing 20-12-32, that the actual code couldn\u2019t contain any of those numbers, any even numbers, or any middle-low-high sequence. Those \u201clessons\u201d are overeager attempts to gain more information from the failure than is actually there.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, we can easily over-infer from our circumstances when we experience a business failure, a lousy relationship or a bad job. The actual reasons for our failure may be specific. Yet we extrapolate those to anything that resembles the original condition. A partner that cheated on you, for instance, might convince you that all partners are potentially unfaithful.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure4-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14485\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure4-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure4-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure4-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure4-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Learn-Success-or-Failure4.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>In many cases, the healthy attitude to failure is to move on. Keep a mental note of any patterns surrounding your failed exercise, but don\u2019t expect definitive lessons about what works to emerge when success is relatively infrequent.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Planning for Success<\/h2>\n<p>Overall, we learn more from success than failure. Success is both more informative and motivating. When struggle is helpful, it tends to be followed by success.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, success isn\u2019t something we can guarantee. Our ignorance about what makes something successful is what makes success informative in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>Even so, we can take steps to build toward success:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Build successes in small increments<\/strong>. If you\u2019ve never succeeded at a year-long project, try a month-long project. If your month-long efforts have fizzled, try a weekend. If you\u2019ve never written a book, start with an essay. If you haven\u2019t launched a company, try finding a single client.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pick challenges where success is likely, but not certain<\/strong>. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2022\/07\/05\/85-percent-rule\/\">85% rule for learning<\/a> suggests we aim for roughly five successes (and one failure) out of every six attempts. The exact percentage is less critical than the suggestion that succeeding most of the time is our aim. If we\u2019re failing much more than this, our expectations are out of whack, our projects are too difficult, or we haven\u2019t gotten the training to do what we\u2019re attempting.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Learn the hard lessons from others first<\/strong>. When failure is likely, begin by learning as much as you can about what works by studying others\u2019 success. The more you understand what the \u201csuccess pattern\u201d looks like for a particular endeavor, the less you\u2019ll need to learn through trial and error.<\/li>\n<li><strong>When you do fail, keep moving<\/strong>. Catastrophic, unexpected failures do offer lessons for introspection. But run-of-the-mill failures often don\u2019t. Overinterpretting the lessons of failure can be just as bad as, or worse than, not learning anything from it. When failure is the status-quo, the best thing to do in the face of failure is to keep trying.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Experiencing failure can build some valuable character traits: compassion, humility and gratitude. In this sense, failures are not wasted experiences. And when we do encounter them, it\u2019s probably best to see them in a positive light.<\/p>\n<p>But, we should avoid exaggerating this silver lining into believing that the best path to success is a string of failures, especially when we can choose an alternative route.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The feel-good bromide that we learn more from failure than success is wrong. Here&#8217;s why.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14476","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-personal-development","7":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Failure is a Lousy Teacher - Scott H Young<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2022\/09\/06\/failure-lousy-teacher\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Failure is a Lousy Teacher - Scott H Young\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The feel-good bromide that we learn more from failure than success is wrong. 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