Mistakes Promote Progression Essay

Mistakes made are lessons learned, not the other way around. According to Scientific American’s numerous experiments, they came to the conclusion that when mistakes are made, one better remembers the correct answer or decision. Alexander Pope suggests that â€Å"a man should never be ashamed to own he has been A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.† In life, one strives for the correct answer or the correct choice, but how can this be identified if one does not even know of the possible mistakes? To get a correct answer on a test almost has the same value as guessing correctly. Without making a mistake, there is no proof of sole knowledge. Mistakes aid in recovery, as well as progression. Furthermore, Henry L. Roediger and Bridgid Finn conduct several experiments on students in regards to study habits and pretesting effects. In one of their experiments, students were given 8 seconds to study different word pairs, such as ‘star-night,’ and ‘factory-plant’. When they were asked to pair the word ‘star’, approximately 5% of the students answered correctly. However, when they were given the same amount of time to read over the pairs once more, all of them correctly matched the pairs. This proves that making mistakes show students what the wrong answers are in order to answer correctly. In addition, when studying flashcards for a test of some sort, one should memorize the answers to each side of the card. However, when studying the first time around it is often difficult to have the right response to every single card. After going through each card a few times, the answers become more fluent in your mind and it is later easier to remember the responses  for the test. When one does not answer the question correctly while studying, the wrong answer sticks in the mind. As a result, the next time the same card comes around, one knows the wrong answer and is more likely to answer correctly. Making mistakes promotes success and progression. Making the wrong choices give the individual experience; perhaps even wisdom. Mistakes are key to making right decisions, proving that, â€Å"in other words, he is wiser today than he was yesterday.