Op Ed: Wrong Answer Buddy

There's nothing wrong with being wrong. Even if every answer that a person can muster is wrong, it leads to the same end as the person whom provides all the right answers, knowledge of the right answer. Either way, you get the right answer in the end, so there is no reason for anyone to fear being proven wrong, yet it seems to go against most people's "nature" to admit the possibility of wrongness. This is a bad habit in our society that requires the attention of everyone, on an individual basis, in order to drop it. This crippling habit's effects are both broad and deep.

Think about the sciences, for instance. Many people in the sciences work their entire lives on theories and thesis papers and things based on things that other people have discovered and "proven." When something new comes along and "proves" that the prior theory was insufficient, it affects more than just the original theory; it affects all theories that have built on it. Discovering that all your life's work was wrong, and everything you specialize in was false, it would be devastating. Or would it be? The correct answer would be known, and we would have more accurate knowledge. There should be no disappointment in a new discovery; it should be celebrated.

Think about a student in a class. Going through an entire lecture with questions in mind and never asking one seems silly, but it happens everyday, in almost every class. Why? Because asking a question and exposing oneself as "ignorant" is somehow demeaning? The desire to learn is uncool? If so I suppose I'm the least cool person ever, because it makes me feel good and more confident, even if my answer was wrong. If I was right, sweet. If not, I know the right answer now anyway! Engaging with the teacher always gets a little cred too.

Think about politicians in general. They are notorious for holding positions until the walls crumble around them. They have to walk an almost god-like path to appease the right people to stay in office, but they also cannot be proven wrong in the public eye. That same uncoolness factor from the classrooms seems to carry over into the big leagues. Knowing that your party policy is wrong, but knowing also that you are expected to vote along party lines must be a dilemma. Or must it be? Some politicians can overcome petty party politics to look at simple logic. Some are republican, some democrats, but most of these people call themselves independent and are shunned or even ridiculed. These are the individuals whom can admit that the government can and does make mistakes, and the importance is in making the right decisions now!

Can we all just admit that nobody is perfect now and do a mini-evolution? It's pretty evident that we are all fallible, and everything that we construct, whether material or symbolic, is also fallible. It's a lot of work to hold the truth back. Let it go. Seek it out. "The truth will set you free."