Perfection

Perfection is not acheivable. It is approachable, and by all means should be approached. It should be the ultimate goal for all aspects of life, all endeavors and all dreams. But true perfection is impossible. People sometimes pout at my refusal to accept something as perfect. "The paint job on this Porsche is absolutely flawless!" "Ah," I say, "there is a little nick the front quarter panel." It does make people angry, for some reason. "Yeah, but other than that it looks professional and amazing." That it may, but perfection is far beyond "professional and amazing." I think the refusal to accept anything as completely perfect is generally viewed as pessimistic. "Well if that isn't perfect than what is?" "A paint job without a nick in the front quarter panel might be an improvement." On the contrary, I think it is a rather optimistic philosophy. There is always room for improvement. Why else has the "fastest" gotten continually faster? Why else has the "furthest" gone further? Records are not meant to be broken. The fastest sprinter on Earth wants to keep the title of the fastest sprinter on Earth. But records in sports, in engineering, in science--they are all broken. New ideas, new technology, new approaches to old problems--they advance us. They break records. A true pessimist would ask, "why attempt to achieve something if someone else will eventually do it better?" I answer, "because without reaching your goals, others will not be inspired to reach over your achievements." Achieving perfection is a ridiculous notion. Striving towards it, however, is the greatest thing we can accomplish.

Current Mood: Inquizzitive

Listening To: "Learning to Fly (Live)" by Tom Petty