That something else has become a quagmire, a rat’s nest, a labyrinthine mass of broken dreams. (src)

Failed experiments

Failures are to be expected in arts and sciences. In order to create something that is beautiful, thought-provoking and useful, we often have to create something that doesn’t have the impact we hoped for. Failed experiments make me sympathetic. We have needed a bunch of effort to create something, and it may never end up being used. Setbacks cause grief.

Also, there often are end results that are interesting in themselves. Sometimes the end results of such failed experiments have facets that the successful experiments are never able to replicate. Sometimes, the end results of failed experiments just sit there and are perfect combinations of sympathy and good, neglected attributes.

We sometimes fail, but we often see the world in far too binary form. The world isn’t black and white, it’s all about shades of grey, and people always forget that there is hidden beauty even in the deepest shades of the grey - or even in the very black. You don’t need to make a heroic failure to get my sympathies.