Staff Reports
Dr. Andrew D. Huberman stopped by The Megyn Kelly Show to do something most of us should have learned in school but didn’t: explain why screwing up can actually make you smarter. The Stanford neuroscientist lays out how mistakes, when handled right, force your brain to learn. Megyn Kelly gives the conversation a no-nonsense platform, which is good — because we need fewer feel‑bad pep talks and more straight talk about building toughness and skill.
The science: why mistakes help
Listen up: making mistakes is not moral failure, it’s an engine of learning. Huberman points to decades of research showing that trying, guessing, and getting feedback triggers what scientists call prediction‑error signals. Those signals, often carried by dopamine, tell the brain “update here” and help the hippocampus lock in memory. Studies on retrieval practice and “desirable difficulties” show that effortful practice beats easy, passive review. Even applied work — think Duolingo‑style guessing plus feedback — proves that a bit of error plus quick correction beats smooth rehearsal every time.
Rumination kills progress
Here’s where half the crowd gets it wrong: feeling bad about a mistake is natural. Sitting in that bad feeling and replaying the flop is not helpful. Huberman warns — and the clinical literature backs him up — that rumination keeps people stuck, worsens mood, and wrecks problem solving. So if you want the brain benefits of error‑driven learning, don’t marinate in regret. Convert the mistake into a short, sharp lesson and move on. Expressive writing, quick reframing, or a focused plan to fix the error are simple ways to stop the pity party and get productive.
How to make mistakes work for you
Practical steps that actually help
Here’s what to do: practice in low‑stakes settings, try pretesting or quizzes, get corrective feedback fast, and space your practice over time. Use interleaved practice (mix different skills) rather than repeating the same easy drill. When you mess up, ask “what cue did I miss?” and change that cue, don’t rewrite your identity. These are evidence‑backed moves — from the National University of Singapore pretesting work to classic testing‑effect reviews — not feel‑good slogans. They build skill. They build grit.
Why this matters beyond the lab
If we want a country of problem solvers, we must stop treating every error like a character assassination. Huberman and Megyn Kelly’s chat is a reminder that personal responsibility and smart methods go together. Teach people how to try, fail, get feedback, and move on. That’s how you build competence, confidence, and real resilience — not by hiding mistakes or by endlessly analyzing them. So next time you mess up, do the sensible thing: learn fast, fix the process, and get back to work. The brain, when used right, will thank you for it.
