The Scientific Method

We all know the story about Thomas Edison’s “failed” experiments and the 10,000 attempts to create a lightbulb before he finally got it to work. We are enamored by his ability to overlook failure. And while his ingenuity, perseverance and determination are amazing for sure, do you know who else refused to succumb to a “failed” experiment? Every other scientist ever! I don’t mean to undermine Edison or anything he accomplished, but the science itself is built on building upon “failure.” Only they don’t call it "failure," they call it "feedback." What set Edison apart was his ability to doggedly accept mounds of feedback, learn from it and assimilate that information into new experimental trials without losing enthusiasm.

In fact, the scientific method itself is based on an attempt to disprove a hypothesis. A scientist literally takes an idea and tries to see if he can get it to fail. A good scientist willingly and ambitiously subjects his or her best ideas to failure and breakdown. But again, the results aren’t looked at as failure or success, only feedback. Science is the process of learning from what doesn’t work and being a student of feedback.

Failure or feedback: the biggest difference is how you respond to it.

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