Yes, there are conscious mistakes. People consciously screw up all the time. People realize that what they're doing is a mistake, but in the inertia of events, they keep on plodding forward into that mistake. Often, by the time one realizes something is a mistake, it's too late to change course, or some other emotion overrides to keep them committed to their mistake, like pride or a need for approval. Example: > Someone tries heroine and gets addicted. They've been taught all > their lives not to even try heroine because it's instantly addictive > and instantly destroys peoples lives. Yet knowing all that doesn't > stop them. And how often do you hear people who have been caught up > into heroine addiction later say, "You know, I knew it was a huge > mistake when I did it, but I went ahead and did it anyway?" The complexity of the human condition certainly allows for a person to consciously and even avoidably make an mistake. I don't think the term "inadvertent mistake" is at all redundant, not innately.