What Have You Learned About Failure?

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What Have You Learned About Failure?

What Have You Learned About Failure?

Writing an essay for Rube Goldberg is all about what have you learned. There are no rules. It's all up to you.

I'm sure you've heard the joke about Rube and his funny machines. And of course, you've probably heard the joke about Rube and his guys:

Rube: 'Now, Professor, I've tried it with pressure, it's going to blow!' Professor: 'Professor, I've tried it with force, it's going to blow!' Rube: 'What have you learned?' Professor: 'Well, you learned how to jump over a meter of water.' Rube: 'That's all I've learned, that's all I've learned.'

Rube is supposed to be a great guy. But the joke is that when he was under pressure, he couldn't make his machines work. It was all luck and risk. When he didn't work, he went out in a fit of rage. You don't want to fall into that same rut.

Here's the other problem with the joke about Rube and his machines. The machines and their failures make a brilliant parable about failure. Their mishaps in a raging storm of fire and brimstone symbolize Rube's absurd notions. But the joke is about all of us. It's about how we have failed, and it's also about how we learned what have you learned about failure.

When you're under pressure, and your things don't work, it doesn't mean that Rube's machines broke. It means that your machines are malfunctioning. It means that you're not using the machines the way that they're supposed to be used. That's the message you have to get across. That's the message that's under all of the pressure, all of the circumstances. This message is also there for other people who feel the pressure as well.

So why not learn from the machines? Why not take the message from Rube and other people's failures? Why not take Rube's machines as a model for your own failures? Why not learn what have you learned about failure?