Volume 6 · The Unfinished Syllabus · Essay 97
Falsification Ratio
Falsification Ratio is a measuring stick. Use it on yourself before you use it on others; the readings are more honest that way.
No single score defines a person, a team, or a year. But a score honestly taken is a mirror, and mirrors, however unkind, are cheaper than self-deception.
It is worth keeping in your pocket not because it is always right, but because it is always available. A tool you carry beats a perfect tool you left at home.
In every examination hall there are two kinds of silence: the silence of those who prepared, and the silence of those who are preparing excuses. The room can hear the difference.
Learning is the one wealth that survives every partition of fortune. That is all. A small tool, honestly kept, beats a large one admired.