Failed or refuted works often stay canonized through sustained critique

Evidence

Above him a caterpillar was trying to climb the tree. It crawled a little way, lost its grip, and fell. It tried again, fell again. A third time. A fourth. A fifth. A sixth. On the seventh attempt, the caterpillar reached the top. … Yared watched, and a great feeling came over him. If a small creature could try seven times to climb a tree, then he too could return to his lessons. — , A Year of World Stories, 406 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Canonical texts can be preserved while interpretation voids their operational force. — , The Rod and the Child: A Global History…, 2347; Observations of persistence can renew a discouraged person’s resolve — , A Year of World Stories, 406; Authors resisted revising their decades-old text despite acknowledged flaws (+2 more)

Related

• Observations of persistence can renew a discouraged person’s resolve (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Observations of persistence can renew a discouraged person’s resolve #exemplifies (0.30) — , A Year of World Stories, 406