Errorology

Here is a start. But it's pretty simplistic.

A good topic for TPF I would think.

Reply to Agent Smith :cool:
I prefer Levi-Strauss' neologism entropology (entropy + anthropology) by which I think he proposed 'a study of disorder produced by human (social) activity'. Or @Fooloso4's coinage foolosophy for 'fool-wise' (not 'wisdom of fools'). 'Error' is constitutive of disorder & foolery, no?

Reply to 180 Proof

I like to keep the various senses of foolosophy in play.

Fools who think themselves wise.
Wise about fools.
Wise enough to know that human wisdom may be no more than foolishness.
Wise enough to know when to fool
Wise enough to play the fool

Quoting 180 Proof

'Error' is constitutive of disorder & foolery, no?

I type an "a" instead of an "s". Am I displaying disorder or foolery? Do I compare with Putin's error in Ukraine? Are "error" and "mistake" synonymous? The latter can be a verb as well.

In some sense, yes.
For example logical fallacies and cognitive biases. Errors in logic and thinking.

Then you have Aesop's fables and Panchatantra etc which are all about mistakes in judgment in every day living.

You can also look up "Life lessons" or proverbs, "words of wisdom", advices and tips, mottos, dictums, precepts, which are in most or many cases lessons learned from mistakes. Or, you follow those things to avoid mistakes.

Then, 'vices' can be thought of in a sense as character mistakes and 'neuroses' as errors in the psyche..

And then health or medicine can be thought of as the study/practice of avoiding or correcting health mistakes, isseus or 'disease'.

Anyway I am drawing out of the lines.
Technically the answer to your question is no, as far as I know.
But what I mentioned could be points or sources from/with which to investigate 'patterns of error'

Hmm, even methodologies could thought of as "mistake avoidance methods". As, we follow methods not only to get from point A to point B, but also in order to avoid errors along the way.

PS.
Don't know how much it relates, but I am big believer in 'via negativa'. Not only for describing God or the Tao or the ultimate truth (apophatic?) but also how to live well. The key to the good life is avoiding false beliefs and negative habits. Not adopting positive beliefs or habits. But, this could very well be a matter of temperament.

---Edit: On the other hand over focus on 'what not to do' could have the potential pitfall of becoming an “ironic process”, as in "Don't think of a pink elephant"

“ironic process theory,” whereby deliberate attempts to suppress certain thoughts actually make them more likely to surface.

There is a gigantic difference between not doing something and resisting doing something. Resisting is a type of doing. It is active.

There is also the unfortunate condition of being so error-phobic that one ends up doing nothing. That is where I am at now.

Atelophobia is an obsessive fear of imperfection. Someone with this condition is terrified of making mistakes. They tend to avoid any situation where they feel they won't succeed. Atelophobia can lead to anxiety, depression and low self-esteem.

The key to curing Atelophobia may be to not focus on what could go wrong...but without creating an ironic process. :chin:

Reply to jgill The article in that link was perfect for me, short and sweet + it's exactly what I'd consider errorology. Muchas gracias.

For the benefit of those who'd like a summary vide infra

1. Reach mistakes (those made when dealing with unfamiliar/new types of problems)
2. Aha-moment mistakes (basically wrong inisght)
3. Sloppy mistakes (those made, due to loss of focus, when solving known kinds of problems)
4. High-stakes mistakes (failure is not an option, but still errors are committed)

Quoting 180 Proof

I prefer Levi-Strauss' neologism entropology (entropy + anthropology) by which I think he proposed 'a study of disorder produced by human (social) activity'. Or Fooloso4's coinage foolosophy for 'fool-wise' (not 'wisdom of fools'). 'Error' is constitutive of disorder & foolery, no?

Interesting. So in your world mistakes cause disorder. I suspect it's a positive feeback loop (vicious cyle) this, errors lead to chaos, chaos then leads to more errorrs, more errors more chaos, and so on. :groan:

Reply to Fooloso4 Foolosophy, what is it? 180 Proof says it's not wisdom of fools, so what is it?

Quoting Yohan

fallacies and cognitive biases

:up: I wonder if fallacies and cognitive biases are essential for survival (re evolution) and for that reason persists in the population. If they were as bad as philosophers & logicians paint them out to be, wouldn't they have been weeded out by natural selection? Perhaps they're in the process of being deselected and I speak too soon.

Quoting Yohan

patterns of error

Oui, oui, monsieur, that's exactly what I'm interested in. Once one/more is/are found, the next step is to explain these patterns and gain insight into the human psyche.

Quoting Agent Smith

the next step is to explain these patterns and gain insight into the human psyche.

Right. i was using the shallow meaning of study as in merely gaining knowledge or observing a phenomenon.
Instead of:
"a detailed investigation and analysis of a subject or situation."
Or "careful examination or analysis of a phenomenon, development, or question"
Eg. What are mistakes? Why do we make them?

Unrelated:
For mistakes in context of foolishness, here is my current take on the types of foolish mistakes, or what leads to them:

1. Overconfidence and carelessness. (Leading to nontrivial reasonably avoidable mistakes)
2. Being negative about mistakes instead of focusing on learning a lesson. (Fixed negative narrative "I am a failure" instead of narrative of a learning curve "I am in a process learning by trial and error". Not grasping that mistakes are part of learning) AKA. unrealistic expectations: perfectionism. Biting off more than can chew at the moment. Not pacing oneself.
3. Not applying the lesson learned. (Mistaking knowing with being. Naive idea of what it means to learn.) Lack of thoroughness. Dunning Kreuger

Reply to Yohan

[quote=Ms. Marple]Most interesting.[/quote]

Non-fatal mistakes are learning opportunities. Like my nephew said once: You win Or you [s]lose[/s] learn. The point seems to be that once you've survived a lion encounter, the next time round you see one, you'll know exactly what to do ... provided you remember what happened.

[quote=George Santayana]Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.[/quote]

[quote=Marcus Tullius Cicero]Any man is liable to err, only a fool persists in error.[/quote]

Some things in life are one-off, there being no second chances - do/die! A pity, wouldn't you say? To live a life full of regrets, a hell in its own way. :groan:

Danke! Anything more you'd like to share?

There's this book I'm reading titled History's Biggest Mistakes[/I] - by your token, they're lessons to be learned and then ... the difficult part ... to [i]apply them.

P. S. (To All)

Does God, a perfect being, ever make mistakes?

I am learning toward mistakes having to do with trust:
Trusting oneself too much or not enough.
And
Trusting others too much or not enough


"Better safe than sorry" sounds like a good motto for avoiding careless mistakes.

What would be the complimentary motto for when it is important to take a leap of faith rather than stay in comfort zone?

Maybe Socrates: I only know that I know nothing. (can't be sure of anything and will never leave comfort zone if expect absolute certainty first)

Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century:
Believing that personal gain is made by crushing others;
Worrying about things that cannot be changed or corrected;
Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it;
Refusing to set aside trivial preferences;
Neglecting development and refinement of the mind;
Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.
Marcus Tullius Cicero

Reply to Yohan :100:

Reply to Yohan Muchas gracias señor Yohan. It's just amazing that you've thought this through so well and in such a short duration. Hats off to you!

Life ain't a joke - people get hurt, many perish - and as I once told a colleague, if one really gives it some thought, it's a tightrope walk without wires & a safety net. Fall and you're a goner.

Anything else you might wanna add?

Pending

Yes?

Reply to Agent Smith Haven't I said enough pseudo coherent babble?

Quoting Yohan

Haven't I said enough pseudo coherent babble?

They were not bad posts. No matter how incoherent you try to be, some sense slips through!