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Ignoring the ''absolute scale'' and only paying attention to the ''relative scale'' often leads to the [[Good Enough|''good enough problem''.]] | Ignoring the ''absolute scale'' and only paying attention to the ''relative scale'' often leads to the [[Good Enough|''good enough problem''.]] | ||
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''The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we hit it.'' - Michaelangelo | |||
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[[Category:Rants]] | [[Category:Rants]] | ||
Revision as of 06:08, 20 January 2007
I think it's quite useful to differentiate between the absolute scale and the relative scale when judging something. As an example, take Microsoft Word. It's probably true that Microsoft Word is the best word processor you can buy right now. That is a relative judgment...there are no other products you can buy that are better.
However, it is completely false that Microsoft Word is the best possible word processor you could create today. In fact, on that absolute scale, it's pretty much a pile of junk. You can't use it for more than two minutes without running into 20 things that could have been better, or shouldn't have happened, and the like, if you approach the problem with fresh eyes and an open mind.
We should be shooting for excellence on the absolute scale where practical. Doing something that's merely better than the other stuff around is sort of a cynical approach to creating things, don't you think?
Ignoring the absolute scale and only paying attention to the relative scale often leads to the good enough problem.
The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we hit it. - Michaelangelo