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It’s Never Going to Be Perfect, So Just Get It Done

nytimes.com

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Re: It’s Never Going to Be Perfect, So Just Get It Done

#4

Post by CharlesW »

hadrien01 wrote: post #3
pgt wrote: post #2

Non-paywalled link, anyone? NYtimes won’t let me read it in Firefox’s Private Mode.

Disable Javascript to circumvent the paywall

That worked, thanks! In Chrome, I was able to use "Site Settings" to disable JavaScript for [*.]nytimes.com for the current incognito session only. [TLDR: Voltaire was right, perfect is the enemy of good.]

Re: It’s Never Going to Be Perfect, So Just Get It Done

#5

Post by tabtab »

Steve Wozniak suggests the Apple II became successful because he's a perfectionist. He talks about throwing out almost-finished designs because he thought of a more streamlined approach while implementing the existing one.

Then again, Steve Jobs has suggested that "Woz" spent so much time fiddling with Apple II hardware that he never got around to adding floating point math to Apple BASIC. (They probably should have hired somebody else to work on BASIC if Woz seemed more hardware-oriented.)

Re: It’s Never Going to Be Perfect, So Just Get It Done

#8

Post by itwy »

CharlesW wrote: post #4
hadrien01 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disable Javascript to circumvent the paywall

That worked, thanks! In Chrome, I was able to use "Site Settings" to disable JavaScript for [*.]nytimes.com for the current incognito session only. [TLDR: Voltaire was right, perfect is the enemy of good.]

"le mieux est l'ennemi du bien." is wrongly translated into "perfect is the enemy of good". The correct translation is "the better is the enemy of good". Totally different meaning IMO. I understand it as the new "better" will eventually replace the existing "good".

Re: It’s Never Going to Be Perfect, So Just Get It Done

#9

Post by pier25 »

At least in software "getting it done" is only half the problem. The real problem is knowing how to find a balance between good enough and catastrophic long term consequences. It's a balance between tactics and strategy.

The approach is different in other disciplines such as artistic creation where blind confidence in what you are doing is a better long term strategy and we give a lot more importance to tactics. The more you work the better you become.

Re: It’s Never Going to Be Perfect, So Just Get It Done

#10

Post by cm2012 »

tabtab wrote: post #5

Steve Wozniak suggests the Apple II became successful because he's a perfectionist. He talks about throwing out almost-finished designs because he thought of a more streamlined approach while implementing the existing one. Then again, Steve Jobs has suggested that "Woz" spent so much time fiddling with Apple II hardware that he never got around to adding floating point math to Apple BASIC. (They probably should have…

Perfectionism is great when you know exactly what the customer wants (like a custom made shoe). It wastes too much time when you're experimenting to find out what the market wants.
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