Two Plus Two = Five

Once upon a time, a sculptor named Bala lived in a small village. He gets to work on a big project of carving a Nandi (Bull, the vehicle of lord Shiva). Bala does his best and works hard day and night to complete the sculpture. Once ready, the sculpture gets placed in a Shiva temple. Bala wants to see how the villagers appreciate his talent and hard work as an artist, so he sits in the corner of the temple. Every time visitors see the Nandi, they comment on how beautiful the sculpture is and then find a flaw.

Interestingly, everyone comments on a different body part of the bull's anatomy. For example, one says that the neck is inaccurate; the other critiques the tail. Saddened by these comments, Bala shares his concern with a village teacher. The teacher first appreciates Bala for his excellent job and tells him that the only thing missing in the sculpture is a mistake. Bala is confused by this comment from the teacher. The teacher says every visitor wants to show how smart they are, so they keep looking for a mistake. When they don't find any, they point the finger at a body part of the Nandi. The teacher thus asks Bala to tie a broken bell to the neck of the Nandi Bull. Bala does so, and suddenly everyone appreciates the bull and comments only on the broken bell. My sister Preeti shared the above story with me when we discussed and distinguished between constructive and unwanted feedback.?

In the internet era, you purposefully publish a wrong answer if you want a correct answer. This is because people are more quick to correct a wrong answer than to give a correct answer. Many marketing experts use this same technique to increase engagement for their content on the internet by making intentional mistakes. But, then, see the kind of engagement you generate by doing so. It is the 'Cunningham's law'. For example, see the recent tweet by Coach Raj below.?

8+8=16 would give him zero traction. But, 8+8=14, and see the engagement with retweets, quotes, and likes. Most of the comments are on his intentional mistake, but then that made him reach you. So next time you see a broken bell, remember this quote by Paul Newman.?

"If you're playing a poker game and you look around the table and can't tell who the sucker is, it's you." - Paul Newman