Trial and Error

I never cease to be amazed at how many ways there are to say the same thing.
I read a quote the other day by a physician called Lewis Thomas.  He said, “We learn, as we say, by "trial and error." Why do we always say that? Why not "trial and rightness" or "trial and triumph"? The old phrase puts it that way because that is, in real life, the way it is done."
I reckon he is right.  Although we often enjoy the ultimate win and life is measured beyond that point.  Getting there is a different story.  It is like what I see so often in movies.  The hero has all sorts of problems and then they either learns to use a dormant power they have or discovers something that changes everything.  They come out with a win.
Reaching that point is trial and error.
I see it in research of cures to ailments.  Often years go by before there is a breakthrough.  A fortune can be invested before it finally pays off.  There is a whole science to it apparently.  The term is believed to have been first coined by a C. Lloyd Morgan.  He tried various phrases and was most comfortable with what he came up with.
I just know it is the way I learn.  Sometimes I come at a problem with a wealth of knowledge.  It is like a head start.  For ages I have been one to state “why reinvent the wheel?”  By that I mean why do something again that has already been done.
I feel my time is better spent not making the same mistakes others have made to get where they are.  The aim is always “trial and triumph” but there is a process.  It may be an unwelcome observation but so often for me it is a case of “the greater the cost, the greater the impact.”  Things that come easy are welcome, but things that don’t are even more welcome.
I am finding that.  There are things I think I need and am going for.  For me some experiences carry more weight.  Every achievement, big and small, easy or costly, is welcome on the way to a goal.