# Multimedia 

Multimedia 

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Cato Video • February 25, 2014 

# *The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success*

[![](https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/images/the-upside-of-down.jpg) 
Purchase book](http://www.amazon.com/The-Up-Side-Down-Failing/dp/067002614X/?tag=catoinstitute-20)

Nobody likes to fail, yet failure is a ubiquitous element of our lives. According to Megan McArdle, failing often — and well — is an important source of learning for individuals, organizations, and governments. Although failure is critical in coping with complex environments, our cognitive biases often keep us from drawing the correct lessons and adjusting our behavior. Our psychological aversion to failure can compound its undesirable effects, McArdle argues, and transform failures into catastrophes. Please join us for a discussion of how “failing up” allows us to reinvent ourselves and our institutions. 

[![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) 
This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). 

##### Featuring 

![Megan McArdle](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-04/megan-mcardle-300x300.jpg?itok=fj9_fori) 

##### Megan McArdle 

Columnist, *Washington Post*

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