Anybody here ever try to split a boulder with a plug-and-feathers kit? First you use a star drill to make a hole for the plug. Maybe people call you an idiot because the rock hasn't split.
Then you hammer in the plug, and then the feathers. And they deride you because wow, you still haven't split the stone.
Then you drill a second hole and insert another set of plug-and-feathers and hammer. Then another. And hammer away while folks shake their heads and mutter about insanity being doing the same thing and expecting a different result.
Then a small crack on the surface appears. By this time, folks who have bet money that you would never get that boulder split start to sweat. They say it's hopeless, that the crack is just the result of hammer blows to the surface.
But the crack deepens. When you decide to drill a fourth hole, they start up with their now-worn-out arguments. But these are drowned out when, with a loud cracking sound the boulder is clave in two.
Then, when you offer to chisel off bite-size chunks for your detractors to eat, they decline and walk away. Rather quickly.
This situation is about the second blow on the third plug. Patience.