What if failure is just the first step?
Error is the path to success
🏷️ Categories: History, Continuous improvement, Life lessons, Geography, Learning.
It's something that happens to all of us....
You fail at something and, immediately, you say to yourself, “I blew it. This is a disaster. I'm a failure.” But are you really? Or are you just looking at the mistake from the wrong angle? We tend to think in binary, black and white: success or failure, right or wrong. We are comfortable in simplicity.
But the reality is that learning, growth and innovation happen in the gray.
That uncomfortable space where we make mistakes, learn and keep moving forward.
Isaac Asimov knew this well, for in 1989 he wrote a letter in response to a reader who questioned him about an essay he had written on the evolution of science. In his response, Asimov used the story of how we understood the shape of the Earth to demonstrate that mistakes are not regrettable failures, they are steps toward progress.
Read on and you'll see why this mindset is crucial to moving forward in life.
The shape of the Earth
1. The Sumerians
In its earliest days, the Sumerian civilization believed that the Earth was flat. Says Asimov:
“This was not because the people were stupid, or because they intended to believe silly things. They thought the Earth was flat on the basis of solid evidence.”
The evidence they had with the techniques of the time pointed to it being flat.
Even though we know today that this idea was incorrect, we cannot simply dismiss it, as it was a first step to a better understanding.
2. The Greeks
Later, in the 4th century BC, philosophers such as Aristotle observed that certain phenomena, such as the disappearance of stars beyond the northern and southern hemispheres, suggested that the Earth might be spherical. As Asimov mentions:
“Certain stars disappeared from the southern hemisphere as one traveled north and the shadow of the Earth on the Moon during a lunar eclipse was an arc of a circle.”
These reasonings of the Greeks were crucial in refining the view of the Earth, marking the first step toward a more accurate conception.
3. Eratosthenes
A century later, Eratosthenes, in the third century B.C., proved that the Earth was spherical and could be measured. Using the differences in the lengths of the shadows at two different points, he calculated the circumference of the Earth with surprising accuracy. for his time, quite a feat. Asimov describes this achievement thus:
“From the difference in the lengths of the shadows, he calculated the size of the Earth's sphere and it turned out to be 25000 miles in circumference.”
It was a simple calculation in its approach, but it was a great step forward.
4. The Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, although many scientists already knew that the Earth was round, ancient beliefs remained influential, especially in religious thought. Although there were steps backward, some thinkers continued to question and refine Greek ideas, advancing science.
5. The Scientific Revolution
In the 16th century, the Scientific Revolution brought the heliocentric theory of Copernicus. Asimov explains how this model broke with the old geocentric concept:
“The Earth was not only spherical, but it revolved around the sun. This reignited the debate about its shape and opened the way for new research.”
This paradigm shift set the stage for the future.
6. Isaac Newton
Newton, in the 17th century, introduced the idea that the rotation of the Earth causes a flattening at the poles. As Asimov explains:
“The Earth has an equatorial bulge. It is flattened at the poles. It is a 'spheroid' rather than a sphere.”
This refinement was essential to give a more accurate explanation of the actual shape.
7. Modern Measurement
Today, measurement with satellites and advanced technology has revealed that the Earth has an irregular shape known as a “geoid.”
“The difference between a true sphere and a spheroid may be small, but it is significant enough that the shape of the Earth cannot be correctly represented without considering its deformation.”
If you stop to think about it, the correction when going from spherical to spheroidal is much smaller than when going from flat to spherical. We continually refine our theories because none of them are totally true, but they are getting closer and closer to being true.
To think that the Earth is flat is a mistake.
To think that the Earth is spherical is a mistake.
To think that the Earth is spheroidal is a mistake.
To think that the Earth is geoidal is a mistake.
To think that all theories are equally wrong is the most serious error of all.
The Sumerian measurement was wrong and the present one has, of course, some degree of error, but the size of both errors is incomparable. Every advance has built on previous errors, improving theories and measurements.
The underestimated potential of mistakes
Mistakes are not the end of the road; they are the sign that we are moving forward.
If you can change your mindset, if you can start to see your failures as a way to measure your progress, then error will be the shortcut to success. As Asimov said, “Once scientists have a good idea, they refine and extend it with greater subtlety as their measurement tools improve.”
You are your own measurement tool.
Every step you take (especially the one that feels like a step backward) gets you closer to where you want to be. So, the next time you make a mistake, don't beat yourself up.
Reflect. Learn. Keep moving forward.
Failure is not the enemy of success. It is its student.
“Getting it wrong does not mean that everything we have done or thought is wrong; it only indicates that we are in the process of discovering something better.”
✍️ Your turn: What mistakes have moved you forward? I recently started writing fiction and one of my first sentences was, “A deafening noise filled the silent emptiness of the room.” I realized I was overusing adjectives and falling into clichés. I learn a lot from my many mistakes and sharpen more with each sentence.
💭 Quote of the day: “A subtle misguided thought may give rise to a fruitful inquiry that reveals truths of great value.”— Isaac Asimov
See you very soon, take care! 👋
References 📚
Asimov, I. (1989). The Relativity of Wrong. Skeptical Inquirer. URL
I'm not convinced that the Earth is spherical. Too many questions, too few answers. Why, using NASA's own formula for calculating Earth's curvature (distance in miles, squared, x 8 = curvature in inches) has it been observed that this curvature doesn't exist? Shooting a laser over a lake for a distance of 1 mile or greater, for example.