The scariest people? Those who don’t learn from mistakes.

'You make 23,725 little mistakes, they never let you forget it.'

I have shared before that I have watched documentaries with people from prison. I think the scariest people are those who don’t learn from mistakes.

'You make 23,725 little mistakes, they never let you forget it.'
‘You make 23,725 little mistakes, they never let you forget it.’

Everyone makes mistakes. You can’t avoid them. No matter how smart you are, you can only minimize mistakes and make different kinds of mistakes than dumb people. For example, I have known smart people and the mistakes they make are ones of simple error, not always gross ignorance. Although I have seen smart people make gross ignorant mistakes as well.

So not learning from mistakes doesn’t have much to do with intelligence. Very smart people don’t automatically learn from mistakes, and dumb people are sometimes quick to learn from mistakes. I think it has to do with self-awareness and humility. It is not easy to admit that you aren’t right, but it makes your life happier and easier and I don’t understand why others don’t see that.

For example, many inmates commit the same mistakes over and over. Eventually, some of them learn and become part of society. They are not alone in this. I see every day in my life people who make the same mistakes. I feel bad for them sometimes because they don’t learn. Condemned to make the same mistakes over and over? That seems like hell on earth to me.

Dealing with computers you quickly learn that generally, your mistake is your own responsibility. In fact, I would say that part of my ability to recognize my mistakes is that using a computer shows you that it can only be you. I made tons of mistakes with computers as I learned them. I still make mistakes. One study says that if you make mistakes while learning, you learn and remember better. I assure you, I have made plenty of mistakes in my life.

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However one of the biggest mistakes is one that I don’t do. I don’t make the mistake of acting as though making a mistake is a mistake.