I read an article the other day that was excellent, but it had a different interpretation of the famous Yoda quote "There is no try. Do or do not". The article briefly asserted that the quote implied that there was no reason to try anything if you were not assured of success. I happen to disagree and left a comment to that effect. You can read the comment in its mostly unaltered state below.
I think, while the "Do or Do Not" quote has been internalized by many to be "don't try unless you're guaranteed success", the real meaning behind it (yes, I realize it's just a movie quote, but we can still find wisdom in movies. After all, they are, in some ways and cases, simply more modern allegories and Star Wars, as awesome as it is, is simply an epic re-envisioning of "the hero's tale"). As I was saying, the real meaning behind the quote is an Intent to succeed, rather than merely making a halfhearted attempt at something. If you're going to do something, put your whole heart and mind into it, be mindful of the task as Miyamato Musashi's priestly friend Takuan would say.
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The article in question was over on Berin Kinsman's blog and to be fair, the reference to the quote was the least important part of the article. The point the article was making was that you will never succeed if you don't make an attempt at success and on this point I agree wholeheartedly. I suspect the final bit about the quote was more a clever reference than it was an indictment of Yoda's philosophy but it made me think that there may be those out there who do actually view the quote in such a light, thus, the rebuttal.
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