On Mon, 04 Apr 2011 02:58:21 -0700, Louis Schmier wrote: [snip] Louis, just a couple of points on making mistakes:
(1) Depending upon the type of mistake one makes, if one makes enough of them, one will become a Darwin award winner. Mike, not sure what you mean. But, there are "bad mistakes," the ones from which we don't learn and become better and "good mistakes," the ones from which we do. (2) That great philosopher, Billy Joel, in his song "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" astutely noted: |Say a word out of line |you'll find that your friends are gone |forever When we keep our place determined by others, we place ourselves in the enslaving rut of worrying about what others think, of being afraid to make a mistake for fear we'll be marked as dumb and incompetent, and, then, we'll become burdened and diminished and stagnant in the words of Carol Dweck with a "fixed mindset." In summary, I think it's important to keep in mind that we're not perfect but we should strive for perfection. I would argue that we are not perfect and cannot strive for perfection. And, we must accept that as you say in your next sentence. A lot of our students' angst, from reading their daily journals, is their quest for something they cannot attain: perfection, euphemistically it may be. Striving for perfection, not making a mistake, is like looking in a darkened house on a moonless night for a black pussy cat who is not there. It's a waste of valuable time and energy, and creates anxiety as the search becomes ever fruitless. We cannot avoid making mistakes but we should avoid making truly stupid mistakes that puts at risk one's own like and the lives of others. No argument from me on this, but I don't think it's all that simple. I wonder if in most cases "stupid mistake" exists so often in the eyes of the beholder or an action becomes a "stupid mistake" only when we Monday quarterback the consequences. To me, for example, in that first category is bungie jumping, free climbing the sheer rockface of El Capitan in Yosemite, white water kayaking, climbing Everest or Rainier, etc, etc, etc. In that second category would be DUIing, texting while driving, thinking ostrich and not showing up for an exam, mouthing off to my Susan, etc, etc, etc I am bolding my answer because our internet at the U. is messing up. Make it a good day -Louis- Louis Schmier http://www.therandomthoughts.edublogs.org Department of History http://www.therandomthoughts.com Valdosta State University Valdosta, Georgia 31698 /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ (O) 229-333-5947 /^\\/ \/ \ /\/\__ / \ / \ (C) 229-630-0821 / \/ \_ \/ / \/ /\/ / \ /\ \ //\/\/ /\ \__/__/_/\_\/ \_/__\ \ /\"If you want to climb mountains,\ /\ _ / \ don't practice on mole hills" - / \_ --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=9816 or send a blank email to leave-9816-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
