The Exception That Proves The Rule

This is a saying that I love and despise. I love it because it has a very useful lesson in it. I despise it because nobody knows wha the saying actually means.

Back when the saying came about, the word "prove" had a different meaning. It meant test. When we proofed alcohol, we tested that it was not watered down. When we go to th4 military proving grounds, those are the testing grounds for weapons.

The point is that exceptions test a rule. It doesn't make any sense for an exception to show that a rule is true. Exceptions show that a rule is broken and needs to be fixed.

Suppose you have the rule that men are good at sports. I am an exception that tests the validity of that rule. Since the rule has now failed the test, it needs to be revised. You can say that tall, burly men are good at sports, then you look for exceptions to test that rule.

When you are looking for truth, you need to find the rules. When you think you've found a rule, you then have to find an exception to prove it.