I have a litmus test for anyone who wants to partner with me.

Are they Be-Right or Seek-Right?

Like most, my younger kids tend towards Be-Rights.

"Yeah, I know" is a typical response when I tell someone how to do something they've never done before.

Most kids grow out of it.

Some never do.

Curtis is a grown man with whom I regrettably discussed math after a friend of mine shared my flat Earth post earlier this week.

Curtis believes the Earth is flat and presented some math to prove it. According to his calculation, if the Earth were round, there would be 3,340-foot elevation changes in any direction you moved.

That is, if you walked down the beach for one mile, you'd go either up or down 3,340 feet.

Now, you might find that absurd.

I certainly do, but the fundamental absurdity lies not in his belief that the Earth is flat but in his refusal to accept math. He calculated his distance using a circle and projected that distance onto a sphere.

It doesn't work that way.

When I provided the correct formula to calculate the distance, he rejected it.

"I'm right, you're wrong," he said.

Math be damned.

I recently talked with a business partner about some material, a floor finish we needed for a project. I'd used it before and knew it was developed and produced here in Monroe.

He is one of the most intelligent people I know. He's thriving as a businessman, successful as a family man, has an extensive network, and is extremely well-read.

He knows a lot about a lot of things - especially business.

When I said, "You know that stuff's made right here in town?" Do you know what he said?

"No, I didn't know that."

On one hand, this is trivial. After all, nobody can be expected to know where everything is made.

On the other hand, it's telling.

From one of the smartest people I know, the answer was, "I didn't know."

And how would my young kids, and probably Curtis, have responded?

"Yeah, I know."

Curtis is a Be-Right, and my partner is a Seek-Right.

I avoid doing business with Be-Rights.

It comes down to whether you see being incorrect as a negative. Some do, and some will go to absurd lengths to protect themselves from the feeling of having been wrong.

Me?

I see it as data.

A lesson.

And an opportunity.

Being wrong about something isn't bad. It doesn't mean I'm stupid, and it doesn't make me dumb.

However, refusing to accept that I was wrong when shown otherwise is stupid.

And doing so would make me dumb over time.

By the way, had Curtis done his math correctly, it would have shown that the Earth curves away from any one point at about eight inches per mile.