« ITP Winter Show | Main | »
December 13, 2005
on Failure
"F Minus!"
That was (Dr) Tony DeRitis' favorite exclamation for whenever some sleep-deprived student made a dumb comment — and don't let your elementary-school teachers fool you, there are such things as dumb comments and questions. This semester I haven't really been studying Interactive Telecommunications so much as failure. This is 50% tongue in cheack, 50% desperate gallows humor, and 20% damn-serious wisdom — perspicacity. Capstone made sure I knew the taste of failure, and graduation allowed me to deal with it. Acadamia is for failure —l and that's its greatest success. Savvy? I'm not afraid to try new things — things I know little to nothing about. Java? MAX/MSP/JITTER? MySQL? Video tracking? Chroma-keying? But the actual result means nothing — as compared to the process. I find this true not just in acadamia, but in the professional world as well. The cliche "say whatever you want about me and my work, just say it" entertains the most important value in any business. Theres small difference in fame and notoriety. I'd fail any day, so long as my goal + work-ethic was proportionally greater. Zero-sum game.
So stop saying 'it's okay, you'll do better next time.' Because it's okay, you'll do better next time. Blue skies are ahead.
Posted by alex at December 13, 2005 11:30 PM