Kathryn Schulz

Politicians and public figures are often ostracized for changing their minds (think: "flip-flop"). However, having a change of opinion part of being human. Diane Ravitch former U.S. assistant secretary of education famously changed her opinion on the efficacy of standardized testing. She was an outspoken supporter of "No Child Left Behind," and has since changed her position and is advocating against this program. She is currently a research professor at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development.

In her recent book Being Wrong, writer and journalist Kathryn Schulz explores how error changes us for the better. She looks at how thinking about "mistakes" has changed over centuries -- and she explores the relationship between error, creativity and revision. Schulz says that sometimes being wrong…might actually be right.

President Obama's commission to investigate the causes of the Gulf oil spill revealed their results yesterday, and it seems that they couldn't find anyone specifically to blame. Fred Bartlit, lead counsel on the investigation, said "We have not seen a single instance where a human being made a conscious decision to favor dollars over safety." While the commission says it agrees "90 percent" with BP's own report on the explosion and spill — does the public need someone to blame for all of this?

Louise Patton, the granddaughter of the only surviving officer from the Titanic, has written a book revealing the secret her grandfather took to his grave: The Titanic rammed into that iceberg because of one human error.

What are some of Kathryn Shulz' favorite picks? She told us after her appearance on The Leonard Lopate Show.

When is being wrong right?

President Obama recently admitted that he was wrong to rely heavily on the emergency plans of oil executives in the immediate aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It's an admission that presidents don't utter very often, but why?