Why “it doesn’t work” is dangerous

“It doesn’t work” is a dangerous phrase.

It’s almost always untrue.

People use it as code for any number of other ideas.

A couple of types of “doesn’t work” –

1. Results didn’t occur quickly enough (so we stopped before they appeared).
2. We don’t really understand the task (so we didn’t get results)
3. It’s inefficient (it works, but costs more than we get out of it)
4. No one else has got it to work (yet)
5. Defies physics (can’t work under any circumstances)

History is littered with people who were unsuccessful because they mis-read the “doesn’t work” they were dealing with.

Recognising which “doesn’t work” you’re dealing with gives you options – but only if you recognise which one it is.