How to Learn from Failure

Too often we assume that a failed experiment is a wasted effort. But not all anomalies are useless.

• Check your assumptions
  Ask yourself why this result feels like a failure. What theory does this contradict? Maybe the hypothesis failed, not the experiment.
• Seek out the ignorant
  Talk to people who are unfamiliar with your experiment. Explaining your work in simple terms may help you see it in a new light.
• Beware of failure blindness
  It’s normal to filter out information that contradicts our preconceptions. The only way to avoid that bias is to be aware of it.
• Encourage diversity
  If everyone working on a problem speaks the same language, then everyone has the same set of assumptions.

Excerpt from February’s UK edition of Wired.