The schools in this country are one of the biggest reasons we’re all so screwed up. Our educational experience consists of three great lies. Lie number one is, It’s better to say, ‘I know’ than to say, ‘I don’t know.’ Lie number two: It’s better to answer a question than ask a question. Lie three: It’s better to worship at the foot of success than understand the nature of failure. Those three lies have screwed our society, and it’s by overcoming one at a time–or two at a time or all three –that you can make some breakthroughs in your creative activities.

Richard Saul Wurman is an American architect and graphic designer. Wurman has written and designed at least 83 books, and created the TED conference, as well as the EG conference, TEDMED and the WWW suite of gatherings.