Well, yes and no. Quite right that failure can be good, unless you're an engineer on the space shuttle and you forget to check the o-rings.

Students could be taught that failure is not an end in itself, eg, I've failed therefore I've come to the end of the road. Students should not be allowed to 'cop out' or morbidly and endlessly self-reflect on failure but see it as part of the 'pattern of things' and that one person's failure might be another's success.

Failure is a forgotten and invaluable part of the learning cycle. Good on the writer for pointing that out.

Fear of failure keeps most of us from taking risks.

Most successful entepreneurs have failed previously in their lives, learnt their lessons and finally succeeded.

Whilst there should be no shame in trying and failing, this should also include limiting the damage to others, as a trail of debt is shameful.

Failure may or may not be an opportunity to learn; it depends on the capacity and reaction of the individual and on the situation. But win or lose, the critical issue is how we react. Life is change, things may or may not turn out as we wish, learning to remaining equanimous in the face of fickle fortune is critical.

But I agree, that a culture such as the US where failure is seen as a step on the way to success is likely to be more innovative and entrepreneurial than one in which failure is frowned upon and risk-aversion prevails. I've often said that Queensland, where Peter Beattie once won a landslide election victory on a denial-of-change platform, needs more Americans, people who are prepared to challenge the status quo and test the limits rather than parochial change-deniers.