Acquiring an Appetite for Crow

Author's Note: Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals mentioned in these stories.

I was wrong. I had made a mistake a few years ago and was now being called out for it by a guy in Switzerland on a random Monday morning. My initial thought was, "I'm not wrong, Fabian. You're wrong." Actually, my initial thought was, "&$!#%, Fabian.", or maybe, "Get off my back, Fabian. It's 6am. Let me drink some coffee first for Christ's sake." I could feel myself tensing up, and I could feel that almost involuntary impulse to defend what I had done vehemently. Fabian had provided a source proving his point. I checked his source. I checked my source. My heart sank as a realization began to crystalize in my mind, "I think Fabian might be right."

Before I go any further, I suppose I should explain the pickle I was in. A few years back, I had created an ETSY store and populated this store with a number of items that showcased several of the typewriters I own. On each of these items was a stylized image of the typewriter, the name of the typewriter depicted and the year it was introduced to the public.

At one point I was pretty enthusiastic about the online store, but my interest waned after a few months and I all but abandoned it. I did keep it active though, because every three months or so I would make about three dollars and three dollars is... well, three dollars.

Anyways, one of my absolute favorite typewriters is the Swiss made Hermes 3000. This typewriter is well known by typewriter enthusiasts, and as such, the t-shirt that depicts this typewriter is a best seller. Here's my stylized t-shirt graphic:

I think it turned out quite lovely. The only problem — as Fabian was now pointing out — is that the actual release year of the Hermes 3000 was 1958, not 1961. Fabian's reference seemed fairly sound. Mine, by comparison, was flimsy at best. In fact, upon closer inspection, my source corroborated Fabian's findings!

I ate my breakfast stewing about the predicament I was in. I remember driving to work in a flustered, sour mood. As I drove, I suddenly remembered the infamous Blizzard Red Shirt Guy. Ian Bates, now forever known as the "Red Shirt Guy" was an avid World of Warcraft fan who became a bit of an icon when he stumped two of the games lead creators at a Q&A session at BlizzCon 2010. Ian had noted a contradiction in the narrative lore of the game. Below is a clip of the original interaction:

The entire World of Warcraft community came to embraced Ian as a bit of a hero. Blizzard corrected the issue Ian pointed out and actually placed a character in the game known simply as the "Wildhammer Fact Checker", to honor Ian and his interaction with the game developers. Fans have since made tributes to Ian's now famous public fact check interaction with the Blizzard developers. One of the more enjoyable tributes, in my opinion, is the entire interaction auto-tuned:

My mood had suddenly shifted. A few moments prior I was driving down the road frazzled, now I was dealing with an earworm of the auto-tuned version of "Red Shirt Guy" stuck on repeat in my head! As the song played in a loop in my brain I thought to myself, "I have my very own 'Red Shirt Guy'!" I have my very own Wildhammer Fact Checker.

I contemplated what I needed to do to resolve the issue at hand. Fabian had ordered two shirts, both depicting the fabulous Hermes 3000. His order had already shipped, so the proper course of action seemed to be to count the two inaccurate t-shirts as a loss, correct the graphic I had created a few years ago, apply the graphic to two new shirts, and send the corrected shirts to Fabian at no cost to him. I reached out to Fabian once I got home from work:

Me: Oh, you might be right! I made this design a few years ago, and I’m trying to remember the source of the 1961 year. I think it might be here, as they highlighted 1961, but in the small print it clearly states 1958 as the release date as you point out:
sevenels.net/typewriters/hermes.htm
I can definitely get that corrected. Thanks for pointing this out!
Did you recently place an order for this shirt?

Fabian: Hi, many thanks for your reply; yes, indeed I placed an order for two of those, but I must confess that I realized there was a mistake after they already had been shipped out… With kind regards, Fabian.

Me: Fabian, if you give me a few days, I can get the design corrected and I'll send you two shirts with the corrected date at no charge to you. Feel free to keep the incorrect shirts. No need to send those back. I'm very sorry for the error. Thank you once again for pointing this out!

Fabian: Oh! That’s very kind of you! I really appreciate! Indeed, I wish to give one of these as a present to our curator who was born in “58, just like the Hermes 3000! ☺️ So, many thanks again; that’ll be for two t-shirts, both in black colour, one in size XL and the second one in size XXL, as per my original order. This is not urgent at all! Have a great day, with kind regards from Switzerland, Fabian.

I adjusted the design, created a new order with the corrected merchandise, and sent Fabian one final note:

Me: Fabian, I have adjusted the design of the Hermes 3000 shirt and have created a duplicate order of your original order. Let me know if any problems arise. Thank you once again for pointing out my error. Thanks for shopping at my little store!

I ended up losing money on the whole transaction, but I felt as though I had done the right thing. That, in and of itself, felt more worthwhile than turning a profit.

I make a fair number of mistakes at my place of employment. So much so that when a subordinate of mine makes an error, I'm quick to say something to the effect of, "Oof, you've made a blunder. I'd like to be empathetic to what you're going through, but I've never made a mistake before, so I'm afraid I just can't relate." The joke instantly lands (albeit with a heavy aura of "dad joke" energy). We have a bit of a chuckle, we learn from the mistake and we press on.

As I've grown older, I've learned to acquire a taste for crow. I never want to be so solidly devoted to my own opinion that I become unteachable, nor do I want to get to a point in my life where I am unable to turn a critical eye to myself and the actions I've taken. I reserve the right to change my opinion on this matter, but as of the writing of this piece, I feel it a skill to consistently question one's own opinion and never be afraid to place that opinion — whatever it may be — up against consistent scrutiny. This skill, once acquired, renders one to be a lifelong student of sorts. I hope to never outgrow that role for myself.

The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt. ~ Bertrand Russell, "The Triumph of Stupidity" (1933)

Works Cited:
Russell, Bertrand. “The Triumph of Stupidity.” Mortals and Others: American Essays, 1931–1935, edited by Harry Ruja, Routledge, 1996.