If you know you’re unlikely to succeed, should you still try?
Olivia @ the BNC
Tom @ the BNC
30 October 2019
Here's one of the thinking questions for this Issue. Please write your answer in the comments section below.
If you know you’re unlikely to succeed, should you still try?
You could look this from a space angle - how should the probability of success affect our decisions? You could find examples of space missions that have not been a success, or succeeded against the odds, and use these to back up your argument.
Or, answers might be more general for this question, you don't need to write something that is necessarily space-related - but do try and write about situations, to show you've done some thinking about the circumstances.
Remember, if you want to write a new POST you should check to see if someone else has written a similar one first. If they have, great! Head to the comments section underneath their post to join the conversation!
Comments (90)
29 Oct 2019
Yes, because no matter how many times you fail you can still try and maybe you might do it.
Yes it is good to have perseverance and not give up but some things like space missions have consequences. People can die if a space mission doesn’t go to plan. Like when they launched Apollo 13, it very nearly ended up in disaster but they managed to get home safely giving it the nickname “the most successful disaster ever”.
Good evidence, cheerful_significance! Do you think the Apollo 13 mission proves we should take more risks in space, or less?
I think that Apollo 13 showed us it is good to try but we need to be more careful and take less risks .
good thinking
29 Oct 2019
yes because if you try again then you might sucsed
If you try again it is good but you need to improve first if it is something risky.
thanks for the info cheerful_significance
29 Oct 2019
You should try to finish your aims and at first you don't succeed try,try,try again but if it is life threatening and it isn't going to benefit anybody it probably won't be the best idea to try
29 Oct 2019
Yes , you should always still try because you may not know if you will be able to succeed unless you try and put effort into the piece of work you are given.
I totally agree because you are your best and you should never give up
Thank you😁👍.
Your Welcome memorable_raccoon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
29 Oct 2019
I think that this depends on the situation. There are more situations where I think that you should - like a test, school work, learning how to ride a bike and many more. However there can be situations where I think that you shouldn't. These situations are if you know you might hurt yourself, or anyone else. If you are struggling with something you know could get you in a good position, then do it! But always question, is it dangerous?
29 Oct 2019
Yes.I think even if you believe that you will be unsuccessful you should always try because noone can predict the future and noone knows what will happen in the future.You can never be too sure or unsure about something since the chances of what you think will happen (depending on how many options you think) will be very slim.Many people could have different thoughts and opinions on this,Peter Drucker has quoted ''The conclusion bears repeating: Do not try to change yourself — you are unlikely to succeed. But work hard to improve the way you perform.” And i personally fully believe him,Imagine a school doing a project depending on how hard they listened what they think and their facts.There is a %99.9 chance that a 2 children wrote atleast one line in the exact same words with the exact same puntuaction.If you believe your going to fail,you shouldnt give up.You should try looking at the situatuion in a different viewpoint which could maybe help you get a difference answer that could possibly help you with the situation.
30 Oct 2019
I believe that you should still try. This is because, if you push yourself hard enough and work hard, then the impossible becomes possible. For example, when we first landed on the moon, the majority of people would have thought it was impossible for that to happen. Yet, NASA still attempted to do it and , with the research and hard work of many scientists, Apollo 11 landed on the moon. Also, if you don't try to do something, it may never happen. For example, when I was younger, I was frightened of going to a karate session because everyone else was older and more experienced than I was. However, after a lot of convincing from my parents, I went into the lesson. If I had not done that, then I would not have reached my full potential at karate. Now, I am a black belt and have won a gold medal with the SKC (Shotokan Karate Center). Even if there is a 99.9% chance of something going wrong, you should always try. “Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others.” – Amelia Earhart. Amelia Earhart was the first female pilot to fly across the ocean. What she meant in this quote was that ,even if someone else has failed to do something, it is still possible and should be a challenge that a person should try to overcome.
However, there are some cases where people should not try to do something. For example, if the thing they are attempting to do is dangerous or it is a 100% fact that no one will ever do it, it should not be attempted. For example, in Greek Myth, Daedalus built wings to fly with his son Icarus to escape the labyrinth. Yet, as they flew, Icarus grew arrogant and flew too close to the sun. The wax melted and Icarus fell to his death. This shows you should not do something that is 100% impossible because you put yourself at risk.
In conclusion, you should try to do something even if it is unlikely. However, you should not try to do something that is definitely impossible.
Information found at :https://impossiblehq.com/25-impossible-quotes/
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/earhart/aa_earhart_subj.html
//www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com › myth-of-daedalus-and-icarus
30 Oct 2019
I believe that it all depends on what the cost of trying is. Take winning the lottery for example. The chances of winning the national (UK) lottery are less than one in 45 million per card, and if the cost of entering was not £2, but £2,000, playing (for the vast majority of people) would leave them with a huge loss, and it would just not be worth spending what could be your life savings but knowing that you are highly unlikely to succeed.
Obviously this does not mean that a person should never try anything unlikely of succeeding, because if that happened then very few of the modern technologies we now enjoy would exist. For example, the lightbulb took an estimated 1000 attempts to make it function, so that is a 0.5% chance of success, but the cost was low.
Its all about a balance between the price and the potential reward.
Well done, jazzed_iceberg, you've looked at this question from different angles and produced an original and thoughtful response.
30 Oct 2019
I think you should because if you want something bad enough you should not give up and if you keep trying some day you will get there
30 Oct 2019
It depends on what it is. If it was something that didn't cost money or a lot time, you should do it as you might as well and even if you lose it doesn't matter. However, if it was someone that cost a lot of money and time and effort you shouldn't do it as it is wasting time and money which you could spend otherwise.
31 Oct 2019
Yes because if you fail you can still try again and sucsede
31 Oct 2019
In my opinion we should try again however there are very high rates of death and are likely to face extreme consequences.For example Neil Armstrong,Buzz Aldrin and Micheal Collins were able to succeed in their mission exploration.
31 Oct 2019
Additionaly,many missions have failed to get space and beyond due to the rocket haveing
31 Oct 2019
this is a saying;if you try an don't succeed, GIVE UP AND TRY SOMETHING ELSE! I actually think if you want something badly enough, you should set your mind to it and do not let anything get in your way.
Are you sure the saying is not "if at first you don't succeed, try and try again"? Surely this takes a more positive perspective, don't you think, impartial_shark?
01 Nov 2019
if you dont try you wont succeed but if you try alot of time you will succeed by 95% on average
01 Nov 2019
I have taken some time and thought about this question and soon realized that you should always try your best, even if known you won’t succeed. Many people have had a lot of inspiration from a lot of people in the world for doing amazing things. But those people that have succeeded have had at least some failure in their lives.
For example Thomas Edison. This American man made life way easier for all of us. He invented the electric light bulb in November 1879. Without this our only light source would be torches and candles. He failed over 10,000 times and never gave up. Thomas Edison stated “Why would I feel like a failure? And why would I ever give up? I now know definitely over 9,000 ways an electric light bulb will not work. Success is almost in my grasp.”
This shows that even if someone knows they won’t succeed, in my opinion, they shall always try again until they know they have tried their best. Nearly all famous people succeeded with a little bit of failure. What do you think? Should people never give up hope or always follow their dreams?
03 Nov 2019
I think you should ALWAYS try you best because etc: at school the teacher asks you questions and for me I tend not to put my hand up often because I feel like I wont get it right then the next day I put my hand the I got it right !!!! believe it or not you may get it right or not but it doesn't hurt to try.
04 Nov 2019
Yes. No matter what you should never give up and you should always remember to try and try and try your best no matter what because what is an expectation could become a reality. It does not hurt to try again so do it. Try again and again no matter what!
04 Nov 2019
I will still try because even though if it would never happen, I would still be determined to succeed. For example, if I once tried to win a lottery and I tried again but I lost and won nothing and I gave up, I chance would be if I would keep on trying and be apprehensive and one day I could win something. I would still persevere and even if I won't get luck out of it, at least I would have tried.
Another example of a person that has persevered was Annie Edson Taylor and she lost her job but was still sure that she would succeed one day and get a fortune. Sadly, she got betrayed by many people as her manager and didn't get much as people only cared about the barrel and not a 62-year-old no fit-looking plump widow. She then started selling postcards to people so she would get money in her childhood park but one day, a miracle happened... A reporter came over and asked her about her journey and asked a few questions about her life and what happened on the day that she went down Niagara Falls in a barrel. She knew that nobody wouldn't believe her that she did the daredevil act would she said to the reporter ' I am content when I say that I am the one who did it '.
Everyone would try to preserve even though they might think that nothing would happen or if they would never succeed.
Great examples to support your reasons!
05 Nov 2019
yes because nothing bis inpossible
05 Nov 2019
I think you should never give up in what you do even if you know you might fail. My reasons for this. I think this because no one should never give up in what you do. In space it will be a bit nerve-wracking to do but once you get use to it you will be able not to think about it. The things you could face in space is you dying and you not having anywhere to land but most of the time you do. In space you can loose connection with the people you are tracking.
How easy do you think it would be to not think about the risks in space?
05 Nov 2019
yes you should still try because if you percevere you get more done
05 Nov 2019
I think you should try even if you have to try and try again. Be determined. If you try you will soon get there.
If you percevere you can get more and more peaple to space and discover more planets.
Thank you for reading
05 Nov 2019
I think that we should still try because anything is possible if we put our minds to it. Like for example after a few years Neil Armstrong finally reached the moon.
05 Nov 2019
In my opinion, I think if you don't think you should not give up if you don't succeed because if you don't try again you will never know that you might get it right the next time just like in a maths test if you are on a hard question and you try a lot of calculations but you don't get the right answer you have to try harder but don't give up try again.
06 Nov 2019
In my opinion,i think you should never give no matter what the situation is.My first reason is that,whatever you do you can always make something good happen in the future.My second reason is that even if your life is bad right now you should always believe in yourself and alway believe in you goals and that you can do them.My final reason is that you life will be amazing in the future, your goal could earn you millions.
06 Nov 2019
Of course you should still try like most adults say if you don’t succeed try and try again never give up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
06 Nov 2019
I think that if you are truly passionate about something, you should go for it because unlikely does not mean it is impossible. However, I think that it is wrong to say that you should never give up because you might realise that your ambitions are not for the better and that you could be putting your efforts into something more worthwhile.
06 Nov 2019
Yes because you can never really know if there actually is nothing important or helpful the only way to know is to just keep trying. And because we might just be exploring the wrong part of the galaxy and that's why we're not finding anything. I have hopes that there is still plenty of things that are out there that we can process as information for the greater good of mankind!
07 Nov 2019
The secret of our success is that we never, never give up - Wilma Mankiller.
Building a rocket is kind of like building a Lego set because if a piece doesn't connect, you can always try another piece until it finally works. That's basically testing the rocket until it finally works.
07 Nov 2019
Hundreds of years ago people took risks and dangerous journeys to discover the planet we call earth. If they hadn’t of tried and some didn’t succeed such as Ferdinand Magella who planned the first expedition to sail around the world in 1519 then we would not know as much as we do today about this planet we live on. If we did not take those risks we would not be able to take the risks to travel to space today. So I think that even though people were unlikely to succeed it was worth the try because look what they have achieved.
I got my information from :
www.easyscienceforkids.com/all-about-space-travel/
www.britannica.com/biography/Ferdinand-Magellan
Great reason and use of example, well done!
08 Nov 2019
you should always try and never give up on what your doing especially if someone judges you on that thing for example Nelson Mandela wanted peace in the world and he didn’t give up to achieve that goal
08 Nov 2019
Even if u think you are still going to fail, carry on trying because giving up is a guaranteed way to failure but trying and trying again will help you it may not be a massive help but it will help you if your are stuck ask for help and you will get help. If at first you don’t succeed try and try again. It will get easier.
08 Nov 2019
I think that if you fail, you should always try again. if you have joy and hope in what you do, you will always succeed and be happy with your accomplishments. even if you don't win at least you will have tried your best and will have the reward of knowing that you tried and did something you didn't want to. :)
A very reasonable response, lovely_construction!
i think that nothing should stop you, if you try your best.
champion_accordion | Whyteleafe School B
08 Nov 2019
I think you still should because there might be a good comeout
08 Nov 2019
If you fail and continue failing, you should continue to try because while it is building character for you and helping you learn, it is also helping other people learn and develop regardless of what the context is. Throughout human history, failures are what led to success or even if that person didn't succeed, it helped another person analyse the failure and succeed. The reasons why failure is considered such a big, well, failure, is because of the way our society operates. We're protected from failure at young ages and taught that failure later in life, such as in careers, is better avoided. So if we fail, we need to grow the courage to see past the failure and succeed because that is what has led to a lot of human discoveries.
Could you connect your points here to space now?
09 Nov 2019
It's good you want to try and achieve it but there is a lot of risks in space like you could die. But if you are very determined to do it then try and try again.
11 Nov 2019
I think you should always try usually if both sides are equally good/bad weigh the pros and cons the good things and the bad.Say getting a puppy pros :can brag,fluffy,friend,fun,
Cons:poo and poo bags,walking,time,health,money there are more bad things then good things so I would say don't get a puppy unless some of these cons don't apply to you
11 Nov 2019
I think should try anyways, and if you fail, you don't have to try again but you can if you think you can do better. This is sometimes called resilience. My example would be the Apollo missions before Apollo 11, like Apollo 7 and 9. They might have not failed, but hey did get lost. Then Armstrong wanted to take the challenge, and it was success!
11 Nov 2019
even if you are unsure, you should always try because if you really want something with all your might and you work hard for it, you can achieve it.
12 Nov 2019
I feel that even if you are highly unlikely to succeed, you should still have a go. if you use the example of space, we do not know if we will find living organisms, or running water on mars, but we still have a go at even if we are unlikely to succeed in knowing the answer to that question.
12 Nov 2019
I believe that even if you know your not going to succeed you should still try because even if you don't succeed you still tried your hardest and that's all that matters. Its your future and you can change it, so if you want to succeed you can try your hardest, do your best and you might win.If you don't try just because you know your not going to win it won't make much of a difference,you won't win.
Could you link this to space now, easy_tiger?
12 Nov 2019
Thanks a lot for your advice, I agree with you because you should write something about the situation and you should ask one of the questions (spectism,speak up,reasoning,open mindness)it will help the person who posted a lot.
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13 Nov 2019
Well I know it costs a lot for the materials and it takes a lot of time to see how they are going to get there, since the astranauts aren't going there for nothing their are going to research.I really find this question difficult because you need to go there for finding information about that planet aswell as you have to pay so much money.
13 Nov 2019
I think that you should try and try until you succeed! Don't give up just because you can get it first time. There is always a next time. For example the writter of 'Harry Potter' was rejected 7 time a by book publishers. However, she kept trying and look where she is now. Believe in your self! Even if someone is trying to put you down and say you can't do it, just do it. Keep trying and you shall succeed! Who knows where you might end up if you keep trying? Hope you understood my post.
13 Nov 2019
Yes, because if we just give up, like on cancer research and other diseases research, millions of people will die only because we didn't keep on trying
14 Nov 2019
I'm a teacher at Hillyfield and I fully believe that you should have a go at things. Sometimes, the process of doing something is better than the actual result. And as Wayne Gretsky once said, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."
14 Nov 2019
It's important that people continue to try, even if they think it's impossible and even if other people think it's impossible because if we don't try we'll never move forward. People must have thought that the first person to look at the moon and say 'I'm going to walk on it' were crazy, but without those triers, we still might not have gone to the moon.
14 Nov 2019
you should 100% because even if you did try you now know for sure if you can /cannot do it like wane gretsy once
said you miss 100% of the shots you miss.
14 Nov 2019
I think that you should try because if you do not than nothing will change. For an example when you are doing a test and you do not no the answer than you skip the question but if you took a good estimate than you probably wont get it
but there is 10% chance you might get it
14 Nov 2019
Never give up!!! Everyone who works hard , tries their best and is determined, will succeed. Even if you don't accomplish what you want try, try, try again. Be happy, never let anyone put you down, you are amazing and you can do anything you put your mind too.
14 Nov 2019
In my opinion, if you are unsuccesful you shouldn't give up because you never know that you actually might make it.Even if anyone says you can't do it ,if you know that you have the guts and you know that you are going to make it so then do it and always believe in your self,no matter what others think its their problem don't listen to them.If you really want a job and you get rejected several times don't just give up on your self because only you know what is inside you. (plus your choice)
14 Nov 2019
If you believe in your self you will do everything!
14 Nov 2019
But if it’s dumb (e.g.fliying into the Sun☀️)you won’t do it.
15 Nov 2019
In my opinion, we should still try. I believe this because (if it is appropriate and achievable) it could help you improve yourself and find other opportunities. For example, in a test, if you do not understand a question, you should try do it. From this, you may go over it and learn from your mistakes and improve!
16 Nov 2019
I think that if at first you don't succeed try,try again because you could get it
16 Nov 2019
Yes
You should still try. Example: Space if you know your rocket is not going to work you should still try because you just might get one day,'try try try again'.
17 Nov 2019
You should still try because what happens if you are wrong? What if you do succeed? You should always try even if you think that you won't succeed because you really don't know the future (unless if you can tell the future) and if you fail it is just your first attempt in learning.
(Unless if it is really hard to get like what stupendous_market said)
17 Nov 2019
If you you go through with something you go through with it to the end. If you don't really care if you succeed or not why bother starting it. If you fail first time ,try again. Nothing is impossible unless you make your mind think it is.
17 Nov 2019
We all make mistakes at first but we have to try again for example if America gave up because the Apollo 13 nearly ended up in disaster or blew or something like that they wouldn't be the first people to land on the moon but because of persevering they finally overcome that challenged they were the first people on the moon.#
This is why we shouldn't give up because at the end of the day it'll lead us to success!
A clever link to Apollo 13 - a clear example of when risks had to be taken. Though bear in mind it was Apollo 11 that landed on the moon and Apollo 13 had to be aborted.
18 Nov 2019
I believe that you should always try again no matter what - even if you lose all faith in yourself, think of all of the people who are depending on you.
18 Nov 2019
Even if you know you are unlikely to succeed, you should take all the factors into consideration.
If you know the challenge is enormously risky you should then think about force stopping your action/mission,
but if you know that that the challenge is unlikely to work out but you feel that mankind needs you to succeed and you just generally believe in yourself and you anyway want to try then yes, you should go ahead with your mission/action.
It all depends if you have faith in yourself.
19 Nov 2019
I think that we shouldn’t try because. Firstly, we live on planet Earth and so far it hasn’t been fully explored in every desert or every part of the sea and answered all the questions on Earth.
Secondly, it takes £500,000,000 for every rocket launch which we are throwing away every time we attempt to get to Mars, we could spend so much of that money on charities, food and just giving to people less fortunate so they can have a roof over their heads and have a more tolerable life than they are having now. They deserve it more than anyone for tackling these diseases and having to suffer everyday.
Finally, the amount of people who will be in orbit stranded and floating in the air after a failed rocket launch is extraordinary. People shouldn’t have to risk their lives by going up in a rocket. Also every time a rocket launch takes place, more pollution comes down to Earth and we should respect our wildlife and animals habitats.
Where have you found this statistic of £500,000,000, determined_shrimp?
After more research I found out that NASA’s average rocket costs 152 million dollars. Not 500 million dollars.
I agree strongly with you determined_shrimp because spending 500,000,000 money just for space launches is a waist when we still have earth. Like people,kids who don't have family's or roofs over there heads. However instead of wasting money we can build some thing else which would last a couple of years. That is a space elevator leading all the way up to the Geostationary orbit so NASA and other space company's can save money.
I am sceptical of your second point determined shrimp because I think that money is well spent, without launching rockets we would not have satellites which have enabled telecoms and many more things like enhancements in cancer research. In addition to this, rockets from Space X cost under 100,000,000, this is a huge decrease in price.
We do need to address problems like huge amounts of poverty so a decrease in the price and emissions of rockets would make both things possible. I am also sceptical of your first point because without space exploration we would not know as much about the earth. There will always be risks in space exploration but I think you do not get anywhere without taking risks, we had to take risks to send people to the moon, without taking those risks we would not have achieved one of the greatest achievements in science.
26 Nov 2019
I did think you shouldn't give up but now I think that many peoples life can be at risk and you can die.
26 Nov 2019
The mission can fail and you can die. You might have family and it's not fair if it's dangerous. If you are quite old and don't have any family. Live your life to the full; if you really want to do it don't let anyone tell you you cant do it.
12 Dec 2019
`If you try your best but you don't succeed, try ,try again` is what I was told and is what I think is what everyone should do no matter what is it like when the Apollo 11 mission came about, no one every gave up even when they were starting to lose contact with the astronauts. so my advise is, no matter how long the road may be, you will always reach your destination!
19 Jan 2020
in my opinion I think yes because you mite fail but you mite chose to try again and you mite succeed but if you dont you can still keep trying no mater what.
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