\t\u201cI was reading the story of Rahab on page sixty-one and you say that she hid the spies in her well. But in the book of Joshua in the Bible, doesn\u2019t it say that she hid them under sticks on her roof? Is there a translation issue I didn\u2019t know about?\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cUm, no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cYou\u2019re just always so careful about details and\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWell, I seem to have made a mistake. Maybe I forgot that wells aren\u2019t located on roofs?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou made a mistake?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy so surprised? You\u2019ve seen me drop and break my coffee mug how many times?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least three.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere you go. You even bet that I\u2019d break my current mug in only a week on that signup sheet that my wife posted by the coffee maker: \u2018How long will Robin keep his new mug? Make a guess!\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n
(She had apparently become annoyed after I had broken the previous two mugs she had given me as gifts. I think around thirty people made guesses on its survival. The youth group in my church seemed to really get into it. My history with mugs is notorious).<\/p>\n
\t\u201cYeah. Didn\u2019t Rick think it would survive only an hour? I thought I was being generous when I wrote that it would survive a whole week.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAnd here it\u2019s been nearly a year and a half and it\u2019s not broken yet. Oops\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was that noise?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing. Thanks for pointing out the error in my book.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cNo problem. Any time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tSee, this is why authors don\u2019t like to reread their books after they\u2019ve been published. And yet, surprisingly, having students and others point out the mistakes in my book is oddly satisfying. My first thought was, \u201cwow, someone actually read the book and paid attention.\u201d Maybe I should claim I made mistakes on purpose and offer small prizes to anyone who finds them?<\/p>\n
Authors know that there are going to be problems that we missed. Despite my best efforts, despite rereading it dozens of times before it went to press, despite my wife and friends reading through it, despite all the editors who also read through it\u2014the simple reality of the process is that I, as an author, remain fully and completely human, subject to all the problems that affect other humans. But unlike other humans, whose foul ups are most commonly known only to spouses and offspring (A wife especially. She is able to list off every error one has ever committed for the last twenty-eight years since she first met you and oddly she decided to marry you anyhow even with those three years of knowing you before tying the knot), an author\u2019s foul-ups are visible to all for all eternity. <\/p>\n
\tOf course, no matter what you do in your life, \u201cI made a mistake\u201d is a phrase that has the potential of getting used nearly every day. Though I must admit that for me it\u2019s not as bad as it is for say, professional athletes, who get to have a referee blow a whistle and throw a flag every time he or she makes a mistake so that everyone in the stands and on TV sees the problem\u2014and whose other errors will be rerun on the sports channels from now to the end of time, while sportscasters pontificate, \u201cso what was he thinking when he threw the ball over there?.\u201d Or for actors, whose mistakes are called bloopers and wind up as bonus features on the DVD. <\/p>\n
Actually, I think it is worst of all for politicians and others working for the government. Their errors will be dissected and everyone will assume that they are not just stupid, but actually malevolent and evil. The same probably goes for corporations, CEOs, and of course lawyers.<\/p>\n
\tMeanwhile, any mistakes you make on your job, say in the office or at the local fast food joint, will be kept track of by your boss. Too many of them, you\u2019ll find yourself escorted outside by building security with your personal belongings stuffed in a box you\u2019re clutching in your hands.<\/p>\n
\tIt is, of course, the negative reactions of those around us and the embarrassment of it all that makes us all want to deny our mistakes. It\u2019s so much easier to say \u201cmistakes were made,\u201d or even better, to yell, \u201cit was all HIS fault\u201d while we point in glee\u2014and relief. <\/p>\n
I wish I could say, \u201cthat copy editor is to blame\u201d or \u201cit\u2019s a typo\u201d or \u201ca well\u201d really does mean \u201ca roof\u201d if you squint and tilt your head just so. But I know better. I simply made a mistake.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/plugins\/send-to-kindle\/media\/white-15.png\")
Send to Kindle<\/span><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When I hear someone say something along the lines of, \u201cmistakes were made.\u201d I immediately translate it from the bureaucratic passive voice to what it actually means: \u201cI messed up.\u201d Sometimes children will ask, \u201chow will I know when I\u2019m … Continue reading