We Learn Better from Mistakes

When we make a mistake, we should not disregard it and say it is only human to make mistakes. If we adopt this approach, we will miss an opportunity to learn. Those desiring to learn constantly would consider a mistake, regardless of who made it, a learning opportunity.

Some people may think that they are too old to learn. This often happens when an older adult attempts to learn from another person. The problem is more likely with the teacher, who may be impatient or not have a suitable teaching method. Most people desire to learn, and learning can be a wonderful experience.

One way to learn is to ask someone to help us. We must try to find someone we can depend on who is patient and interested in teaching. It is now much easier to learn something than thirty years ago. We can search the Internet using artificial intelligence or YouTube for a video explanation. First, we have to learn how to access these new avenues for learning. We can learn how to use Artificial Intelligence applications or the Internet, and it would be a big advantage if we knew how to use these new methods.

Let me illustrate what I built after learning from the Internet and YouTube. I have a small garden, and I have been watering the plants for many years using a hose connected to our main water supply. I try to do this as infrequently as possible, as it seems a waste of water. So, I usually water my plants during a prolonged spell of dry weather. One day, I had an idea to build a rainwater collection system and use the rainwater to water the plants.

I have never built a rainwater collection system before, but it didn’t take long to find out how. With the Internet and YouTube, I soon became quite knowledgeable. I must say I was quite fascinated by the various systems shown on YouTube. So, I thought about it and conceived and designed a system. I talked to a plumbing contractor about my system, but he refused to take the job because it required building a raised stand to hold two water tanks of 300 litres each.

It was a disappointment that the plumber refused to do the job, but after some time, I felt good that the plumber turned the job down because it gave me a good reason to do it myself. So, I decided to build the system myself. I designed and built a system to collect and store about 600 litres of rainwater. It included a first flush diverter that would collect the “dirt” in the gutter that may have accumulated in the gutter before the rain. The system was built and operating well until I found the First Flush diverter system difficult and time-consuming to maintain. I modified it a few times but finally decided to do away with the first flush diverter as it served no purpose, and I rationalised that the plants in the garden would do better with the dirt.

A distinguished marine engineer visited me one day, and I showed him the rainwater collection system I built. He examined the system and then asked me a question that stumped me: “Why is the tap joint not leaking?”

Unless you have installed a tap that leaks, it is hard to explain why the tap you installed does not leak. Obviously, I had learnt the lessons on how to build a rainwater collection system well. But I couldn’t answer the question. So, I mumbled something and tried to make a joke that didn’t make sense. The question completely surprised me. The distinguished engineer pretended to laugh at the joke, and I was most relieved.

If the question had been, “Did you make any mistakes?” He would have gotten an earful from me—from how I had wrongly incorporated a first flush diverter and the difficulty in cleaning the diverter system, to why I finally abandoned the diverter. I learnt more when I made the mistake of including a first flush diverter than building the central collection system.

As a DIY person, one of my other regular assignments is to paint the walls of my house. I have learnt many lessons on how to prevent walls from getting mouldy. This requires keeping the wall dry and ensuring the roof or cap on top of the external wall is designed and built to keep it dry. Ensure the capping slopes inward so water flows onto the roof tiles and not on the wall. Ideally, the capping should extend beyond the wall so that water does not drip on the wall.

The following two photos illustrate this. The caping was extended beyond the edge of the wall, keeping it dry and mould-free. The original design was a mistake.

To summarise, perhaps we can learn some lessons from Confucius.

What Confucius said:
“闻之不若见之，见之不若知之，知之不若行之”

Translated literally: “Hearing is not as good as seeing; seeing is not as good as knowing; and knowing is not as good as doing.”

Confucius’s writings are cryptic, and many versions can be found in their translation into English. One translation that I like says, “When you listen, you forget. When you see, you remember. When you do, you understand.”

We can make mistakes in our thoughts, even if we do not act on them. This is like believing in something, a theory, or even a belief or bias we grew up with. Mistakes can be effective teachers. We can understand what went wrong and how to avoid similar errors. Many discoveries have come from mistakes. When something doesn’t work as planned, it can lead to new ideas and approaches that we otherwise wouldn’t have considered.

To conclude, let me share how these Confucius’s sayings can be interpreted.