Misconceptions in Thinking

Xuefeng

"Failure is the mother of success." Is it really so?

The original intention of this argument is to encourage people not to be discouraged by failure but to learn from it in order to achieve success.

It seems that the great inventor Edison once said: "Who says I failed, I already know nine thousand nine hundred ways that won't work." From this, people mistakenly believe that Edison's success is entirely due to failure, thus "failure is the mother of success".

In fact, Edison's success is entirely based on his repeated successes. Without the multiple successes in the early stage and the confidence gained from other successes, he would undoubtedly fail.

The truth is: from the perspective of probability theory, success breeds success, and failure breeds failure. Successful people will continue to succeed, while failures will continue to fail. Individual or minority examples are not sufficient to establish a theorem.

"True lovers eventually become a couple." Is it true?

This idea seems to tell us that all married couples in the world are loving and affectionate lovers.

Let's ask ourselves honestly, have you and your loved one become a married couple?

The fact is it is difficult for lovers to become married. If lovers do become married, the outcome is often the drowning of affection.

"Live and work in peace and contentment." Is it possible?

Without a job, how can one live in peace? Would pies fall from the sky?

It should be only by enjoying work can one live in peace. In today's world, many young people start their careers first and then start a family, which is correct.

"Safe and sound." Half right.

Being safe leads to being sound but being sound leads to being safe.

"Steel is refined through a hundred trials." Try it, after a hundred attempts, will it become steel or gas?

"Ever-changing." Yes, without rules to follow, acting without rules, indeed it is ever-changing.

"Wisdom comes from experience." Must we experience everything to gain wisdom? Time flies, life is short. If we cannot cleverly make use of things, if we cannot learn from others' experiences and lessons and apply them to different situations to gain wisdom, and instead insist on trying everything by ourselves, isn't that foolish?

"The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into the tiger's den." How many spy satellites are hovering over us, observing our every move? With interconnected computers, the world situation can be observed in an instant. In this era, do we still need to risk our lives to catch tiger cubs in their dens?

"Truth lies in the coffin." Don't expect to find truth just by closing the coffin. People will review history from thousands of years ago for comments. We should still follow Tao and not care about the content of the eulogy when we die.

"Associate with the wise and you become wise; associate with the foolish and you become foolish." Nuns think about having a drink in the lively place, and prostitutes want to get away early and cultivate virtue. There are many corrupt officials among the emperor's followers, and there is justice among the gangsters. Who says, "Associate with the wise and you become wise; associate with the foolish and you become foolish"?

"A newborn calf is not afraid of tigers." The opposite is: a newborn tiger is most afraid of cows.

"The viewer sees better than those involved." The truth is: those involved see better, while the viewer is confused.

"He who has the truth on his side has the majority." Aside from negative cosmic energy, the rest seems to be: the strong have more help, the weak have less help.

A dog relies on its master's power.” Similarly, people rely on the power of dogs.

"A bosom friend afar brings a distant land near." Without anyone recognizing oneself, one's neighbor is as distant as the ends of the earth.

"Once called, it comes; once waved, it goes." It comes when called, but it's hard to make it go when waved.

"The strong wind reveals the sturdy grass." Sturdy grass recognizes the strong wind.

"Do not do unto others what you do not want done to yourself." What you do not want done to yourself, you easily do unto others.

"Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened; heed only one side and you will be benighted." Heeding only one side leads to darkness, and listening to both sides also leads to darkness.

"If you want something, you must give something in return." If you give something, it's definitely in order to get something back.

"Exhaust oneself in service, and only rest in death." Exhaust oneself in service, merely for the sake of reputation.

"A long road tests the strength of a horse; time reveals a person's heart." Carrying a heavy load tests the strength of a horse, and money reveals a person's heart.

"Better to be a shattered jade than an intact tile." Better to be an intact tile than a shattered jade.

"If the skin is gone, what can the hair attach to?" If the hair is gone, where can the skin hide?

"A broken mirror can be put together again." It's hard to mend a broken mirror.

"People fear fame as pigs fear fattening." People want fame as pigs want to grow fat.

"Youth is wasted on the young." Workers don't work hard, and bosses suffer.

"He who sees the trend is a wise man." He who sees the trend is a smooth-talker.

"If one separates himself from physical labor, he cannot differentiate between the five grains". If one separates himself from physical labor, there will be an abundant harvest of the five grains.

"The whole year's work depends on a good start in spring." The whole year's work depends on a good start in winter.

"All crows are black." All crows are not as black.

"To spin a cocoon and trap oneself in it." To spin a cocoon for self-defense.

"Of the thirty-six strategies, running away is the best." Of the thirty-six strategies, intangibility is the best.

"Three shoemakers surpass Zhuge Liang." Three shoemakers are still shoemakers.

"Traveling a thousand miles is better than ten years of reading." One year of reading is better than traveling a thousand miles.

"If you don't listen to the old man, suffering is in front of you." If you only listen to the old man, suffering lies ahead.