# Try something else. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 27, 2018, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-something-else/823578 "2018-10-27T08:38:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-something-else/823578/21 "2018-10-29T18:33:05Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > “Kids, You Tried Your Best and You Failed Miserably. The Lesson Is Never Try” - Homer Simpson “No one said you didn’t try your best. It’s just that your best sucks” - Howard Stern ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-something-else/823578/22 "2018-10-29T18:42:53Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I’m an engineer. If Plan A doesn’t work go to Plan B. I’m an INTJ. I’ll see your Plan B and raise you Plans C-Z. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-something-else/823578/23 "2018-10-29T20:20:50Z")
Independent thinking is not in my job description. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-something-else/823578/24 "2018-10-29T20:22:34Z")
The definition of sanity is when something doesn’t work, try something else. And I think we can all agree that sanity is overrated. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-something-else/823578/25 "2018-10-29T20:58:14Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I’m an engineer. If Plan A doesn’t work go to Plan B. That’s what I did when I was in IT. Users have a natural tendency to screw things up in unique and interesting ways. Troubleshooting often became a game of trying different solutions until one of them works. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-something-else/823578/26 "2018-10-29T21:50:07Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I’m an engineer. If Plan A doesn’t work go to Plan B. Obviously, you’re not a software engineer. If Plan A doesn’t work, turn on debugging and try it again. See also the following [classic programming joke](http://www.teluguone.com/comedy/content/software-engineer-jokes-34-7845.html): > [@Classic Programming Joke](#): > > There was an engineer, manager and programmer driving down a steep mountain road. > > The brakes failed and the car careened down the road out of control. > > Half way down the driver managed to stop the car by running it against the embankment narrowing avoiding going over a cliff. > > They all got out, shaken by their narrow escape from death, but otherwise unharmed. > > The manager said “To fix this problem we need to organize a committee, have meetings, and through a process of continuous improvement, develop a solution.” > > The engineer said “No that would take too long, and besides that method never worked before. I have my trusty pen knife here and will take apart the brake system, isolate the problem and correct it.” > > The programmer said “_I think your both wrong! I think we should all push the car back up the hill and see if it happens again._” (Emphasis added) ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-something-else/823578/27 "2018-10-29T22:02:17Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Obviously, you’re not a software engineer. If Plan A doesn’t work, turn on debugging and try it again. > > See also the following [classic programming joke](http://www.teluguone.com/comedy/content/software-engineer-jokes-34-7845.html):(Emphasis added) Speaking with twenty years of programming experience under my belt, if you can’t make a problem happen on cue, then that problem doesn’t exist. What, you think it does? Prove it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-something-else/823578/28 "2018-10-30T13:23:42Z")
Albert Einstein once described insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-something-else/823578/29 "2018-10-30T15:44:38Z")
My friend Rose had a problem with a scoring program for duplicate bridge (written by Sam.) She asked both myself and a mutual friend Lionel for advice. Lionel listed a considerable number of things to try. I suggested (as a former programmer) that Rose contact Sam. After trying every single suggestion of Lionel (none of which helped), Rose contacted Sam. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-something-else/823578/30 "2018-10-30T15:59:41Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Albert Einstein once described insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. “The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can’t always depend on their accuracy” -Abraham Lincoln ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-something-else/823578/31 "2018-10-30T18:49:32Z")
Nobody fails. They just give up before they succeed. _–Somebody famous may have said something like this_ Edison tried hundreds, maybe thousands, of materials for the light bulb filament before he hit on carbonized cotton thread. When a reporter asked, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. I found 1,000 things that don’t work.” _–This and similar versions widely attributed to Edison though there appears to be no authoritative source_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/try-something-else/823578.md?page=1)