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If you don't make mistakes, you're not working on hard enough problems. And that's a big mistake.
Frank Wilczek
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Making mistakes is a sign of tackling challenging problems.

This quote emphasizes the importance of embracing mistakes as a part of the learning process. Frank Wilczek suggests that if you are not making mistakes, you may not be pushing yourself to confront significant challenges, which can hinder your growth and creativity.

Themes

MistakesProblemsGrowthChallengesLearning

In practice

Example use cases

During a workshop on innovation, I shared this quote to encourage participants to take risks.

More from Frank Wilczek

An ordinary mistake is one that leads to a dead end, while a profound mistake is one that leads to progress. Anyone can make an ordinary mistake, but it takes a genius to make a profound mistake.
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In physics, your solution should convince a reasonable person. In math, you have to convince a person who's trying to make trouble. Ultimately, in physics, you're hoping to convince Nature. And I've found Nature to be pretty reasonable.
Frank WilczekRead
Why is there something rather than nothing?
Frank WilczekRead

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