Think of mistakes like a scientist
Turn failure into steps towards success
🏷️ Categories: Life lessons, Continuous improvement, Learning
Humans have always dreamed of taking to the skies.
From winged mythological creatures like Icarus to the visionary ideas of Leonardo da Vinci, the idea of flying has fascinated our species. It seemed impossible, but for Wilbur and Orville Wright, two brothers from Dayton, Ohio, this unattainable dream was about to become a reality.
This is the story of a dream and this is what we can learn from them.
A story of stumbles and learnings
The Wright brothers were restless: they had a desire to learn and experiment.
In their early years, they founded their own newspaper, but it did not go well. However, thanks to that experience they began working in a printing shop, a job they later left to set up a bicycle repair and sales company.
But everything would change in 1896.
That year, three events sparked the Wright brothers' interest in aviation. In May, the first pilotless steam-powered airplane was flown, a milestone that was followed by engineer Octave Chanute's tests with gliders in Michigan. However, it was the highly publicized death of Otto Lilienthal, a pioneer glider pilot, that finally made them begin researching aeronautics.
At first they based themselves on what they had learned from Chanute and Otto, but it was a failure.
Their gliders barely lifted off the ground and were difficult to control. After many failed attempts, the Wrights discovered that the formulas were imprecise and had to adjust them through trial and error (Crouch, 2003). In the end, they created a system that modified the shape of the wings to make flight more controllable.
Each test gave them new information.
Despite the advances, their 1902 prototype still had flaws. In crosswinds or sharp turns, the glider would spiral and crash. These errors led them to realize that the rear rudder, like the wings, also needed to be movable to improve control during turns (Tobin, 2012).
That change made all the difference.
Between September and October, they carried out more than 1,000 tests (Combs, 1979).
Finally, after many attempts, they moved on to the next step: adding an engine.
They built the Wright Flyer in 1903. They used pine wood and thin cotton fabric for the structure, designed their own propellers, and contacted a mechanic who designed a particularly light engine. On December 17, 1903, with Orville Wright at the helm of the Flyer, they achieved a 12-second powered flight.
12 seconds that went down in history.
Use your mistakes like a scientist
Have you ever noticed how the Wright brothers accomplished their feats?
When you carry out an experiment, anything can happen, but whatever the result, it will provide valuable information. This is how mistakes are seen in science, as just another piece of data. For the Wright brothers, every failed flight was a step forward.
This is very different from how we see it in society.
If you fail an exam, you will feel like you are not smart.
If few people read you, you will feel like no one cares about you.
If your business fails, you will feel like you are not worthy of leadership.
For a scientist, it is the other way around. Proving that his theory was not true does not make him a bad scientist, it helps him to rule out possibilities and continue researching.
Failing brings you closer to success
Psychologist Carol Dweck calls it a “growth mindset.”
She observed that difficult challenges caused many people to give up after initial failures. However, those who failed and saw them as learning opportunities were more likely to overcome the challenge than those who quickly fell apart due to not seeing progress (Dweck, 2006).
Everyone could overcome it, but mindset made the difference.
The only failure is thinking that you are a failure, the rest is gathering information.
✍️ It's your turn: In what area of your life are you going to apply this scientific mindset? I have it clear, in my process as a writer.
💭 Quote of the day: "Where others have failed, I will not fail." Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
See you next time! 👋
References 📚
Combs, Harry (1979). Kill Devil Hill: Discovering the Secret of the Wright Brothers. Englewood: TernStyle Press, Ltd. pp. 68–71. ISBN: 0940053020.
Crouch, T. D. (2003). The Bishop’s Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright. W. W. Norton & Company.
Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House.
Tobin, J. (2012). To Conquer the Air: The Wright Brothers and the Great Race for Flight. Simon and Schuster.
So true. Thank you.
Excellent article!