Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error

Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error (2010) is a nonfiction book written by Kathryn Schulz, a journalist who has written for publications such as the New York Times Magazine, the Nation, and the Boston Globe. The book explores the nature of error from a psychological, philosophical, and personal point of view, drawing from philosophical thought, psychology studies, and personal anecdotes. Some themes of the book include the fallibility of the human mind, the identity crisis evoked by confrontation with error, and the potential to form a new outlook on what it means to be wrong.

This study guide refers to the 2010 HarperCollins edition.

Summary

Being Wrong opens with Schulz’s assertion that we are wrong about what it means to be wrong. Rather than viewing error with distaste, the author argues that it is a primary component of human cognition, inextricable from our humane qualities, and critical to learning and growth. She contrasts the pessimistic model of error with the optimistic model: The former holds that error is perilous and humiliating, while the latter allows for surprise, delight, and hilarity in the face of mistakes.

In her investigation, Schulz first looks at historical attempts to delineate the nature of error using prior philosophical thought from various scholars. However, she distinguishes herself from these definitions, instead focusing on how it feels to be wrong.

To demonstrate the forms of erring, the author presents several examples of the fallibility of the human mind, such as memory failure, confabulation, and the downfalls of inductive reasoning. She also includes the influence of community as an example of the outside influences that affect our beliefs and can lead us into error.

All of these elements, says Schulz, work together to produce feelings of infallibility and certainty, where we are sure of our theories and beliefs. However, this overconfidence results from our aversion to uncertainty, as certainty enables us to feel safe and comfortable. Thus, our reaction to being wrong is ultimately an emotional fear-response.

Personal reaction to error is a major topic of the text, with those reactions ranging from denial to acceptance to quasi-acceptance. The author raises the idea of an ideal response to wrongness: conversion, whereby a person changes their beliefs where appropriate. Thus, the feeling of being wrong can open us up to a place where we rebuild our identities.

In the vein of identity exploration, the author contends that we cannot know the experience of others as selves, as the self can only be understood internally. However, this does not make others’ realities less valid or real.

Another point is the paradox that eradicating error means accepting its inevitability. Furthermore, the author explores the relationship between comedy and error, demonstrating that with comedy, error arises from a violation of our beliefs that causes us to form new beliefs.

Schulz concludes by pointing out that error is essential for survival as well as intellectual, social, and emotional evolution. Error, she says, is akin to hope; it presents us with the optimism that no matter how many mistakes we make, we can try again.

One of the text’s key themes is how the fallibility of the mind tricks us into a state of certainty, whereby we are unaware of—even unable to perceive—our mistakes. Several examples are given, including the instability of memory, the tendency to confabulate, and the innate human propensities for obliviousness to error.

Another theme concerns identity. When we err, says Schulz, we find ourselves at odds with ourselves, resulting in a kind of identity crisis. Many other examples of such error-related existential crises are provided, such as how error reminds us that we are ultimately alone in the world. However, there exists the potential for identity conversion in the face of personal error.

There is then the theme of celebrating error as a means of causing delight and surprise. The author argues that acknowledging our error has the potential to transform us and our beliefs, opening us up to a world we would never have otherwise known. Thus, erring the author presents error as resembling optimism; we persist with hope, despite any multitude of errors.