proverb · Words worth keeping
Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.
Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying makes good judgment come from experience and experience come from bad judgment. It gives learning from mistakes a circular, paradoxical form.
Example
Someone reviews a poor decision and changes the process while also learning from another person’s example.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The repeated terms connect an earlier error with a possible later improvement. A qualified interpretation can encourage reflection without treating mistakes as the only way to learn or harm as necessary. The supplied medical example is not established by the actual wording and is not repeated as clinical evidence.
When to use it
Use it to discuss reflection and learning without requiring avoidable mistakes.
Keep in mind
Errors do not automatically teach good judgment, and no clinical outcome is verified.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown