"Success" & " CVs"

May 1, 2016 4:05 PM

on the idea of a "CV" of "failure"/“CV of good fortune” folks, please do voice your critique of this critique of a critique below
posted by pos (3 comments total)

Yeah... on the one hand, I really like the idea of punturing the relentless perfectionism that dogs academia; in many ways I think that if we all spoke more openly about our failures it would be healthier and really help minimize imposter syndrome. On the other hand, when you're a professor at Princeton this also reads a lot like a humblebrag. Gee, I'm glad this dude has failed his way into an Ivy post rather than failed his way out of academia altogether, like so many have been forced.
posted by TwoStride at 4:09 PM on May 1, 2016

also, damned if this post gets deleted because it's addressing something different from this
posted by pos at 4:12 PM on May 1, 2016

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat. -- Theodore Roosevelt

posted by Chocolate Pickle at 4:15 PM on May 1, 2016