The Perfect, the Enemy of the Good
Voltaire had a saying: “The perfect is the enemy of the good,” or, “Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien.”
It’s often repeated, especially in public policy circles, that the perfect the enemy of the good, implying that you should favor the realistic good that can be done rather than the unattainable perfect ideal.
And now you know why. Because “good” beats “perfect” in a Google Fight, and by a rather handy margin.
HT: Seth’s Blog, which compares “unique”, “best”, and “finest”.
Oh, and one more thing. Dark Helmet was wrong when he said, “Evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.” See for yourself.
It’s often repeated, especially in public policy circles, that the perfect the enemy of the good, implying that you should favor the realistic good that can be done rather than the unattainable perfect ideal.
And now you know why. Because “good” beats “perfect” in a Google Fight, and by a rather handy margin.
HT: Seth’s Blog, which compares “unique”, “best”, and “finest”.
Oh, and one more thing. Dark Helmet was wrong when he said, “Evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.” See for yourself.
Comments
#1 2006-09-07 16:23 (Reply)
Anyone that quotes SpaceBalls in the context of an intellectual discussion deserves kudos!
Well done!