第二个错误——需要考虑的问题
Different lenses give you different views. One way in which lenses differ is in their resolution. Tools, likewise operate in different resolutions, though we usually speak of blunt or sharp tools.
Varying resolution reveals additional structures and complementing them shows richer detail. What looks like a single issue at first can turn out to be a cluster of related mistakes, when you zoom in.
This quote is often attributed to Confucius:
I do like this, in spirit, if not in those exact words. I have used it or a notion thereof in conversation or as a reminder for myself, when working through an issue. One mistake can quickly turn into two, which is often worse.
We should learn from our mistakes. Don’t make the same mistake twice, is probably a high bar, perhaps a simpler theory and more difficult practice.
As a thinking tool, the quote is a blunt one. That does not mean it is low quality, but it is different quality than sharp. We can sharpen it by adding precision and decompressing what it shows.
Let’s say you did or did not do something. Either way, it was a mistake, one of commission or omission. Presumably, for you to correct that mistake you have to be aware that it is one. That understanding has to be based on something. Some type of data about what happened and the consequences it brought about perhaps.
So is the mistake not correcting the initial mistake or not understanding that there is an initial mistake or not having anything to observe that would help you understand? Yes.
This is where our tool sharpens into something else and. more detail moves into view that was previously obscured. Let’s take a look.
Breaking down the aforementioned sequence yields something like the following picture.
This is a simplified view of reality, but it is more precise, sharper in a useful way, than where we started. Mistakes can occur at every one one of those stages.
The initial action (or inaction) can have been the wrong one. Not getting feedback or getting the wrong feedback means being blind to the consequences. Misinterpreting the feedback leads to erroneous understanding. Not taking action based on your updated understanding is a failure of inertia.
Our blunt tool from the beginning did not necessarily provide a wrong result, but an incomplete one. Its coarse resolution also hid the fact that additional mistakes can have occurred and how those would have led to our resulting mistake.
The original quote stands and is useful. It simply speaks at a lower resolution. A good rule of thumb is helpful, but also often glosses over important learnings at the edges.
Tools (physical or otherwise) come with different levels of sharpness or resolution. They each have their uses and of course produce different results and opportunity for insight.
Sharper tools (and more granular resolution) often reveal mistakes that are hidden from view otherwise.