TOW #9 - Be Wrong as Fast as You Can

In his piece, “Be Wrong as Fast as You Can,” Hugo Lindgren utilizes allusion and personal anecdotes to urge his reader to accept making mistakes. Lindgren used to be an editor the The New York Times and now is one at The Hollywood Reporter. His piece seems directed toward a more general audience; he essentially claims that you have to be willing to look silly before you can fully achieve your goals. Interestingly, I found his purpose applicable to this course. In the beginning of the year, we discussed how we would be successful in the class. A lot of it came down to this willingness to look bad. It’s similar to making an investment – in the beginning, it may not look so smart, but in the long run, the reward could be great.

Lindgren alludes to many famous people and companies that have undergone what he is talking about. For example, he quotes Pixar founder John Lasseter “’Every Pixar film was the worst motion picture ever made at one time or another,’ Lasseter said. ‘People don’t believe that, but it’s true. But we don’t give up on the films.’” By tying his message in with one of the world’s most famous animation film companies, Lindgren turns the idea of being wrong into something widely used, even by the best of the best.

In addition to allusion, Lindgren uses personal anecdotes to get his point across. He explains that even he, a normal person, just an editor for a newspaper, endures failure. Not only do celebrities and major brands make mistakes, but the average person does too. His point is that everyone will fail at some point, but if we fail early, we can learn from our mistakes the fastest, and can then succeed earlier.

Ultimately, I feel that Lindgren was successful in making his point. He gives examples, both on a personal and global level, to prove the relevance of messing up before succeeding. It is definitely something applicable in and out of the classroom, in more ways than we know.