Stephen Dubner

I wish I knew. I would happily tell you, but I don't. After the break, more failure. In love.

I wish I knew. I would happily tell you, but I don't. After the break, more failure. In love.

I wish I knew. I would happily tell you, but I don't. After the break, more failure. In love.

We'll be right back. Joseph O'Connell has been a maker all his life.

We'll be right back. Joseph O'Connell has been a maker all his life.

We'll be right back. Joseph O'Connell has been a maker all his life.

To say that Thomas Edison was an inspiration to O'Connell would be an understatement. Not just how Edison succeeded, but how he talked about failure.

To say that Thomas Edison was an inspiration to O'Connell would be an understatement. Not just how Edison succeeded, but how he talked about failure.

To say that Thomas Edison was an inspiration to O'Connell would be an understatement. Not just how Edison succeeded, but how he talked about failure.

Today, O'Connell and his studio build public art projects across the country. Some of them are complicated pieces with big moving parts. He has won awards. His work is in museums. But O'Connell says the projects he remembers best are the ones that don't work out. His biggest failure was in Houston. It's a massive piece made of aluminum and stainless steel and fabric. It's called Wings Over Water.

Today, O'Connell and his studio build public art projects across the country. Some of them are complicated pieces with big moving parts. He has won awards. His work is in museums. But O'Connell says the projects he remembers best are the ones that don't work out. His biggest failure was in Houston. It's a massive piece made of aluminum and stainless steel and fabric. It's called Wings Over Water.

Today, O'Connell and his studio build public art projects across the country. Some of them are complicated pieces with big moving parts. He has won awards. His work is in museums. But O'Connell says the projects he remembers best are the ones that don't work out. His biggest failure was in Houston. It's a massive piece made of aluminum and stainless steel and fabric. It's called Wings Over Water.

There's one more zone of failure that we haven't heard about today. It's love.

There's one more zone of failure that we haven't heard about today. It's love.

There's one more zone of failure that we haven't heard about today. It's love.

Helen Fisher was a friend of mine, a lovely human. She died last year. She was an anthropologist who studied romantic love.

Helen Fisher was a friend of mine, a lovely human. She died last year. She was an anthropologist who studied romantic love.

Helen Fisher was a friend of mine, a lovely human. She died last year. She was an anthropologist who studied romantic love.

If Helen Fisher is to be believed, the difference between success and failure is sometimes just timing. Time, after all, is the dimension of change. It isn't hard to think of success and failure as nearly identical, as twins even separated by nothing but a few moments. This is what Travis Thull came to believe. Thull, you will remember, is the inventor of the ramen now.

If Helen Fisher is to be believed, the difference between success and failure is sometimes just timing. Time, after all, is the dimension of change. It isn't hard to think of success and failure as nearly identical, as twins even separated by nothing but a few moments. This is what Travis Thull came to believe. Thull, you will remember, is the inventor of the ramen now.