Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

:-) It`s funny, but on the "model for failure" thread, PatentAndTrademark proposes that failure results from not knowing one`s level of ignorance. And now here we`re showing examples that astonishing successes can take place for exactly the same reason---not knowing one`s ignorance.

Makes you wonder what`s the truth? When is ignorance a good thing, and when is it catastrophic?

CraigL... Great point. When is it? I am ignorant about everything... so much so, that I tend to second guess myself due to lack of knowledge. I guess it makes me dig a little further with my ideas before pursuing but sometimes that can be deadly too... it`s called procrastination. 

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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

I`d say the dividing line rests on secondary consequences. In the situations we`ve discussed on this thread, 1 person was ignorant of how things were done and therefore, created a new way of doing things.

But on the other thread, 1 person attempted to enter into a set of events that not only are controlled by others, the events also have consequences that go beyond that 1 person`s actions.

So suppose I want to build a car engine. As long as I`m on my farm, messin` with parts and blowing things up, I`m the only one facing the consequences. But if I decide to drive a car through town and I`m totally ignorant of cars, roads, and traffic rules, I could easily kill a family of four.

The deciding characteristic, then, is knowing when you`re alone in your actions and when you`re going to affect others with your actions.

Choosing to learn something all on your own, "recreating the wheel," so to speak, can often lead to total failure and a huge waste of time. But it also can lead to inventing a fundamentally different way of doing things. It`s in the "learning" part that the distinction lies, relative to ignorance and its consequences.

Consider people who`ve learned, all on their own, that sending a registered letter is a great way to trademark or copyright their product. That`s fine, as long as they never intend for the product ever to reach the open market. As long as their learning never impacts a surrounding society, they perhaps have learned something new.

But objective thought---critical analysis---requires testing a hypothesis against reality.

Very inspired by your story considering I will not give up on my homemade chicken potpies making the market.  Google has what you want, I believe.  I just typed in what you said you needed with the year you need and it came up.  Please go overthere and check it out.  Good Luck!