Um... yes.
"At last I had something of my own to add to this. 'The worst part of it is this,' I said, 'that the survivors, if there are any, will immediately set about doing it all over again, exactly the same way.'
'Yes, I'm afraid you're right. Trial and error isn't a bad way to learn how to build an aircraft, but it can be a disastrous way to learn how to build a civilization.'"
--Daniel Quinn, Ishmael.