It’s Okay To Be Wrong

"It's ok to be wrong; its unforgivable to stay wrong" - Martin Zweig

In a world where civility seems to be at a low point and everyone's opinions and stances are amplified with the use of social media - it can be easy to forget this fact of life. "To err is human," Alexander Pope once wrote in 1711 and this guarantee of life still holds up 300 years after it was written down. You are going to be on the wrong side of things eventually, probably many times in your life. This is something I've struggled with

Most of us are paralyzed at the fear of being wrong - we would be embarrassed, made fun of by people, maybe god forbid ratioed on our tweet. However, at the end of the day being wrong is one of the best things that you can actually do. It gives you the opportunity to learn, grow, and exercise that important virtue of humility.

We're all going to be on the wrong side of things many more times in our lives. What has to differentiate us from others is our ability to both realize our faults, admit them to ourselves and others, and then learn from them.

This is way easier said than done however, simple but not easy if you will. Because that's when the fear and the pride comes in.

We've all been there, you're in class and a professor says something you don't quite understand. You're confused but god forbid you raise your hand and ask a clarifying question and be wrong for a few minutes with the attention of the entire class. And so you let the fear of being wrong rob you of the chance to educate yourself and learn.

I came across this tweet about Cunningham's Law on Twitter recently which reasons that the best way to learn is in public - "The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; its to post the wrong answer". The best way to learn about something is to express your opinion and be wrong. If you're wrong you will be corrected - but it will only be for your benefit. And at the end of the day, it’s ok for your ego to be bruised for a few minutes so that you can get the benefit of actual knowledge.

The pride factor has been something that's been especially hard for me. Your ego really takes a beating when you finally admit to your faults and whisper those three magic words, "I don't know".

Something that has helped me deter this is this story about Socrates:

When Socrates learned from his friend that the Oracle of Delphi proclaimed him the wisest man in Athens, Socrates did not celebrate or boast. Instead, he actually went out to prove the Oracle wrong by questioning anyone and everyone he met to prove that there was actually a person who was smarter than him.

In his conversations with these other people, however, he realized that they all actually pretended to know more than they actually did out of pride. Socrates understood that he was actually the wisest man in Athens after all - but only because he was prepared to admit his own ignorance rather than pretend to know things that he did not.

If the person who was thought the wisest and most influential philosopher of his time did not let his pride get in the way of admitting his faults then who are we? That willingness to admit his faults, what he did not know, and his mastery over his ego is what truly made him the wisest man in Athens.

So take the time to admit something you think is wrong this week because at the end of the day we're all fallible and there's a great benefit to admitting so to learn and grow as humans.