The Importance of Errors

People often believe that if errors and mistakes didn’t occur, their lives would be better and the world would be a better place to live. Errors are important, and their essential nature is often overlooked. The discovery of penicillin occurred when mold contaminated samples in an experiment and killed the bacteria being grown in Petri dishes.

The role of errors goes far beyond cases where a mistake happens to produce a beneficial result. The very essence of evolution, and thus the variety of life itself, depends on errors. The copying of genetic material and reproduction happen imperfectly. Mutations are often, but not always, dysfunctional. Some of these errors create superior capabilities that enhance an organism’s survival. The vast web of life came about through what we usually perceive as errors and mistakes.

Creativity itself is a process in which novel results and outcomes occur. By this definition, mistakes and errors are extremely creative, often yielding results no one imagined or intended. Without errors, most of what we value and hold dear would not exist.