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James Dyson: Failure is more instructive than success because it prompts questioning

James Dyson · James Dyson: 5,127 Prototypes · Dec 7, 2025 · at 4:08

Inventor and Dyson founder James Dyson explains his philosophy of engineering and iterative prototyping to David Senra.

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“And actually, if you learn that failure is so much more interesting than success, Because failure, you question it. Well, why did it go wrong? And actually, the reason it goes wrong is often very, very interesting. When something works, you say, great, that works, and you don't even stop to wonder why it works.”

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