Perfect is the enemy of good
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The perfect is the enemy of good is an aphorism or proverb meaning that insisting on perfection often results in no improvement at all. The phrase is commonly attributed to Voltaire whose moral poem, La Bégueule, starts[1]
| “ | Dans ses écrits, un sàge Italien Dit que le mieux est l'ennemi du bien. (In his writings, a wise Italian says that the best is the enemy of the good) |
” |
Aristotle, Confucius and other classical philosophers propounded the principle of the golden mean which counsels against extremism in general.[2] The Pareto principle or 80–20 rule explains this numerically. For example, it commonly takes 20% of the full time to complete 80% of a task while to complete the last 20% of a task takes 80% of the effort.[3] Achieving absolute perfection may be impossible and so, as increasing effort results in diminishing returns, further activity becomes increasingly inefficient.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Allen W. Wood, Hugh Barr Nisbet, Elements of the philosophy of right
- ^ Tal Ben-Shahar (2009), The Pursuit of Perfect, McGraw Hill Professional, ISBN 978-0-07-160882-4
- ^ E. Gandevia, S. Breakspear, Equip
