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Writer's pictureBridget Chapital BS, MEd

Science Secret: Mistakes Boost Understanding


Many kids (and even adults) are scared that making mistakes will label them as a failure.

But one of the things that we spotlight in Hypothesis Haven Science Club programs is that science is actually built on a mountain of mistakes, many made by the brightest minds.


Science is always evolving and new things are constantly being discovered. The trick with science, that also can be applied to other parts of life, is to view each mistake as a step along the path to understanding something better.


“Failure is the most important ingredient in science,” says Stuart Firestein, a scientist that studies the biology of the brain at Columbia University in New York City who also wrote a book called Failure: Why Science is So Successful.


For example, scientists first thought that eating a diet heavy on bananas could cure celiac disease, a disease where the body's immune system attacks and damages person's intestines. It wasn't until close to 30 years later that it was discovered that cutting out gluten, which is found in breads and grains, was actually the key treatment.


To learn more about how failure gets us closer to success visit the link below.

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