LIFE’S LESSONS
by Henrylito D. Tacio
“To err is human; to forgive, divine,” wrote Alexander Pope some centuries ago. It was true then, and it is even true today. Yes, we always make mistakes whether we like it or not, sapagka’t tayo ay tao lamang, to use the Pilipino cliché.
“Error is not a fault of your knowledge,” John Locke once said, “but a mistake of our judgment giving assent to that which is not true.” Charles Caleb Colton also said, “It is almost as difficult to make a man unlearn his errors as his knowledge.”
Some years ago, when Rodrigo R. Duterte was still the country’s president, he made a blunder when he mistook Gabby Concepcion, the handsome actor who is known as the ex-husband of Sharon Cuneta, for the ABS-CBN honcho Gabby Lopez.
Duterte isn’t the first famous person to commit a blunder nor he will be the last. Carl Sandburg, considered as “one of the greatest American poets and biographers,” had committed a mistake despite the fact he won prizes and awards for poetry and was also well-known as a singer and reciter of American folk songs.
In his famous biography, “Abraham Lincoln – The Prairie Years,” he wrote: “Lincoln’s mother was standing at the door of their cabin singing Greenland’s Icy Mountain.” The faux pas: the song was not written until twenty-two years after Lincoln’s death!
Who hasn’t heard of Sherlock Holmes, the fictional detective created by Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle. His sidekick was Dr. John Watson.
According to the author, Dr. Watson once suffered a bullet wound during a military action. In the novel, “A Study in Scarlet,” Dr. Watson’s wound is in the shoulder. While in another novel, “The Sign of Four,” Dr. Watson’s wound is in the leg. Now, Sherlock Holmes should figure that one out.
Daniel Defoe also committed an error in his famous novel, “Robinson Crusoe.” In it, the author had his shipwrecked castaway try to salvage some goods: “I resolved, if possible, to get to the ship; so I PULLED OFF MY CLOTHES, for the weather was not to extremity, and took to the water.”
After the naked Crusoe climbed aboard the ship: “I found that all the ship’s provisions were dry; and being well disposed to eat, I went to the bread room and FILLED MY POCKET WITH BISCUITS.” So, suddenly, he had clothes on?
Writers are not the only people who make mistakes. Painters do, too. When Emanuel (with one M, please!) Leutze painted “Washington Crossing the Delaware,” depicting the Stars and Stripes being carried in the boat. So, where’s the error?
Well, for the uninformed, the Stars and Stripes was not adopted as the American flag until June 14, 1777 – half a year after Washington’s crossing.
In his renowned oil painting, “Israelites Gathering Manna in the Wilderness,” the painter Tintoretto armed Moses’ men with shotguns. But history tells us that the earliest known gun did not appear until 1326, definitely after the Exodus.
Here’s another boner in the world of art. In a portrait of his patron, Charles I of England, Anthony van Dyke painted the king in full armor with two gauntlets (commonly known as medieval gloves) – both for the right hand.
Here’s something to laugh about. After completing construction of the Howard Hotel in Baltimore, the contractors installed boilers and started fires – before discovering they had forgotten to build a chimney.
Here’s another. Dan O’Leary of the Port Hurton baseball team came to bat against Peioria with the score tied. O’Leary hit what may have been the first home run of his career. After rounding the bases, he was declared out. Why? He had run around the bases the wrong way!
By the way, most of the boners mentioned above were taken from the best-selling The Book of Lists.
We learn our lessons from our mistakes. American inventor and businessman Thomas Alva Edison held a world record of 1093 patents for inventions. Perhaps, the greatest challenge was the development of a practical incandescent, electric light. Contrary to popular belief, he didn’t “invent” the lightbulb but rather he improved upon a 50-year-old idea.
In 1879, using lower current electricity, a small carbonized filament, and an improved vacuum inside the globe, he was able to produce a reliable, long-lasting source of light. The idea of electric lighting was not new, and a number of people had worked on, and even developed forms of electric lighting. But up to that time, nothing had been developed that was remotely practical for home use.
After experimenting more than 200 different substances, a colleague told him: “You have failed more than 200 times; why don’t you give up?” Edison replied, “Not at all. I have discovered more than 200 things that will not work. I will soon find one that will.”
After one and a half years of work, success was achieved when an incandescent lamp with a filament of carbonized sewing thread burned for thirteen and a half hours. “All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes,” commented British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
“There are no mistakes in life; there are only lessons to learn,” sang multi-awarded singer and actress Barbra Streisand in one of her movies.
Apt! – ###
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