way of / way to

[ratóncolorao]

Hello,

Is there any difference in meaning between these two sentences? Can we say both?:

Making mistakes is the way of learning

Making mistakes is the way to learn

Thank you

[J&K Tutoring]

Making mistakes is the way of learning

Making mistakes is the way to learn

Can we say both? Yes, of course we can say either, but I think they are both misleading. Use of "the way" means that there is only one way to learn, and that one way is by making mistakes. If you were to substitute the word a for the, then either would be better, but there is a larger problem:

We don't really learn by making mistakes. The learning comes after. We all make mistakes, and we learn by observing our mistakes and taking lessons from those mistakes- we learn from our mistakes, and that is one way of learning- the most painful and expensive way!