The solution to some mistakes can be taught so that another does not commit it. This is in the realm of explicit knowledge. In some cases we need to leant only by first hand experience. This is in the realm of tacit knowledge. Learning to ride a cycle is a tacit knowledge issue. If tacit knowledge can be taught in a class room by conventional means without experience, people should be able to swim or ride a cycle after reading a book.

Peter Senge describes in his book on Fifth Discipline how team learning and simulation are a important thing to go through off line, so that people are well prepared to face them online. In this example people learn to work together understanding the system’s dynamics. Often working together with good timing is important.

In my experience of working with Japanese, they keep a problem directory of all known problems faced in the past. A new product review is a process of reviewing the product under review with every past failure mode and seeing to it that we do not repeat past problems. This way after a couple of generations of products a new product would be inherently less failure prone. In such situations it is worthwhile learning before executing.

Thus learning by mistakes has a context.