Is there such thing as "perfection?"

[Overdrive 5,366]

You hear it a lot these days: someone commenting that something is perfect, whether it be a performance or art piece of some sort, the food they are eating or the clothes they are wearing, or whatever else it may be. But that word, "perfect," does it really exist?

 

I do not believe so. For one, everyone has their own criteria to determine whether or not something is "perfect." Also, you have to take into consideration the world around you, and how you have no control over it. In that case, anything could ruin your "perfection" at any moment.

 

Even look at individual people. Everyone has their own quirks and differences that makes them truly unique compared to anyone else.

 

I think you can strive for perfection, and try to get as close to being as "perfect" as you may see it, but true perfection simply does not exist.

 

What do you guys think?

[Guest]

From my point of view, perfection is a completely subjective word and very much like a slang, just like sick is a slang for cool, crazy, insane etc.

 

"Man, that trick was sick, yo!"

 

Perfection is just a slang word nowadays for something you really like, imo.

 

You can still, of course, strive to be better than others at certain things, which some would classify as being perfect at said thing, but I as well don't think that true perfection exists.

Edited April 14, 2015 by Guest

[DeadAccount 4,603]

No. I think it is something we can only dream of....

[Ice Fox 1,145]

As a Christian, I believe perfection exists only exists in God; a human should strive toward being as close to perfection as he/she can; but in the end, they will always end up woefully far from it.

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,298]

"Perfection" is neither something that will ever be universally agreed upon, nor is it ever inarguable.  Nor do I think, were "perfect" an attainable state of...  Well, anything...  That it would even be a good thing.  The very idea of something being perfect - free of flaws, infallible, never deviating from its perceived perfection - is extremely boring to me.  Why would anyone want perfect when you can have interesting?  And no: The perfect being who never makes mistakes, never does something unexpected, never has moments of doubt or vulnerability...  They aren't interesting.  A canvas need be painted with virtues and flaws alike.  I would rather connect with something because it is imperfect.  And I will appreciate its virtues all the more.

[Steel Accord 6,658]

I think it does, it can be fleeting and may differ from circumstance to circumstance, but it can exist. There was once a time when I held my girlfriend close to me, both of us in a warm and candlelit room. That moment, brief when compared to the span of my life, was perfect.

[Overdrive 5,366]

"Perfection" is neither something that will ever be universally agreed upon, nor is it ever inarguable.  Nor do I think, were "perfect" an attainable state of...  Well, anything...  That it would even be a good thing.  The very idea of something being perfect - free of flaws, infallible, never deviating from its perceived perfection - is extremely boring to me.  Why would anyone want perfect when you can have interesting?  And no: The perfect being who never makes mistakes, never does something unexpected, never has moments of doubt or vulnerability...  They aren't interesting.  A canvas need be painted with virtues and flaws alike.  I would rather connect with something because it is imperfect.  And I will appreciate its virtues all the more.

For the record, this is about the idea of perfection itself, not what you find and don't find interesting. Maybe try to stay a bit more on topic.

[PoisonClaw 8,153]

I don't believe in perfection. To say something is "perfect" is to imply that it can never be done more efficiently or improved upon and thus only resolves into two outcomes: either you achieve this so called perfection or you fail and make a lesser product. I would even go as far as to say if something is considered perfect then it becomes stagnant and discourages creativity, like calling a recipe perfect is almost like saying you shouldn't experiment in adding in an extra ingredient or two, or finding some method that shaves off minutes of cooking time. 

 

Or, at the very least, perfection is a lofty and unattainable goal and the true goal should be to get as close to this as possible, the point of which is different for everyone. 

Edited April 14, 2015 by PoisonClaw

[Aidan OGain 112]

Attaining perfection is like counting to the highest number. You can only approach it. But the payoff for approaching it is pretty sweet IMO.

 

Was it Tolstoy who said every happy family is the same, that only dysfunctional families are unique? I disagree. Imperfect things that do not strive to improve themselves succumb to entropy. entropy by definition is uniform. True. Every jumbled up mess is different, but they're all the same in the sense that you cant get into them and drive like you can a car or a plane. So in my mind, every dysfunctional family is the same. Every happy one is unique.

 

Look at tea, or wine. Bad tea is all the same. It is only the really noteworthy tea, that which approaches perfection, that is unique. Darjeeling and Taiwanese Oolong are both very different. But their best approach perfection. And each award winning tea is different still. One estate's Darjeeling is completely different from an equally refined Darjeeling from a different estate. Even on a single farm, different plots are unique. It's the tea master's craft to bring out the unique flavor of each one, to make it its personal best based on terrain and weather conditions.

 

I believe there is an infinite number of "perfections" and there is at least one for each of us. As far as an objective standard of perfection goes, I don't believe it exists. And forcing anything to measure up to that standard is harmful to its unique perfection.

[simba86 1,541]

Perfection is really a relative term, perfection is really subjective on a person to person basis, and one person might think It is perfect while someone else won't, so true pefection can't exist because you will never get everyone to agree something is perfect, everyone is a critic LOL

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,298]

For the record, this is about the idea of perfection itself, not what you find and don't find interesting. Maybe try to stay a bit more on topic.

I feel that, in pointing out that you felt my post was off-topic, you veered off-topic.  And my post began by addressing the idea of perfection.  I referred to "perfection" as something that will never be universally agreed upon (i.e. is always susceptible to subjectivity) and is not invulnerable to argument.  If my post, as a whole, was not to your satisfaction, it could only be because it was imperfect.

[Moonlight Sapphire 11]

 

 

is always susceptible to subjectivity

Well it seems to me like you would have to establish whether objectivity exist or not...which I believe in objective truths and self-evident things. I know there are people however that believe that everything is relative to one's own perspective. I don't think anything in terms of entertainment can be perfect (even though MLP comes pretty close), but that is definitely subjective to opinions as I am sure everyone can agree with. However I do believe it is possible to become perfect in virtue (like never telling a lie, honesty being a universal concept) so yeah there is that.

[A Black Circle 1,585]

Yes, because God. Although it may not be fair to even put him on a level of comparison with everything else.

[Grepper 3,192]

I don't think true perfection exists, but it is possible to be close. What is "perfect" varies from person to person.

[Overlord0909 479]

Well, they say nobody is perfect, and I haven't met the person by that name yet so... But seriously. Perfection is really opinionated, I may have a different standard then anypony else, and see a picture and be like: "This is perfect!" And believe the statement, but if you came along and said there were some flaws, there's two contrasting OPINIONS. :3

[[NULL] 906]

Yes, perfection exists. For instance, this is a perfect circle.

 

 

Buf if you're talking about when someone says "This food is perfect." or "This house is perfect.", people don't expect you to take it literally. The point they're getting across is that something is ideal for them, and people usually get the point.

[Aidan OGain 112]

Yes, perfection exists. For instance, this is a perfect circle.

It doesn't display perfectly. My screen pixilates it. Also my eye can't perceive it perfectly. And the line is way too thick that delineates it's boundary. The idea of it is an example of a platonic ideal, which might be called "perfect", but it can't exist on this earth. We only see a pale shadow of it represented on the screen. It's true form is beyond images or manifestations. Still there are an infinite number of ideal shapes. None of them can exist in our universe. So we shouldn't try to contort ourselves to fit the impossible standard. We should instead try to approach ourselves.

[[NULL] 906]

It doesn't display perfectly. My screen pixilates it. Also my eye can't perceive it perfectly. And the line is way too thick that delineates it's boundary.

Very well then. This is a perfect circle:

A = π r²

 

And when I say perfect circle, I mean a circle with no geometric imperfections such as warping or jagged edges, which is what people normally mean when they say "perfect circle". Not "The best shape in the universe."

 

Still there are an infinite number of ideal shapes. None of them can exist in our universe. So we shouldn't try to contort ourselves to fit the impossible standard. We should instead try to approach ourselves.

I don't know if you skipped the part where I said that people don't mean it literally when used casually in a conversation. Nobody's trying to fit a standard, they're just saying they really like something.

Edited April 15, 2015 by SpaceOnion

[碇 シンジン 27,427]

I think perfection is something that is achievable but it can only be achieved at that moment when the circumstances are favorable but in the next moment the situation is slightly different and its no longer perfect.

[Twilight Frost 271]

 

This sums up my beliefs on perfection perfectly.

[ThatOneComrade 1,091]

Yeah. Me.

No, perfection's impossible for a human being. We'd be pretty boring if that was the case. Technically the only entity I could assume is perfect is God, but They created humans, so that's flawed too.

[Twilight Frost 271]

Yes, perfection exists. For instance, this is a perfect circle.

 

 

Buf if you're talking about when someone says "This food is perfect." or "This house is perfect.", people don't expect you to take it literally. The point they're getting across is that something is ideal for them, and people usually get the point.

 

 

That is not a perfect circle. Its the worng color and there is a single atom that is a infinitieth of the size of an electron out of place on the right side somewhere.

[JonasDarkmane 19,777]

I don't believe in perfection. One can always do things better (just depends on what you view "better" being ). 

 

I also view things that are considered to be perfect, imperfect. The reason being that I view things that are not flawed, are flawed due to lack of flaws. Flawless can be boring (people have different views) and not relatable. 

[Aidan OGain 112]

Very well then. This is a perfect circle:

A = π r^2[/size]

 

And when I say perfect circle, I mean a circle with no geometric imperfections such as warping or jagged edges, which is what people normally mean when they say "perfect circle". Not "The best shape in the universe."

 

 

I don't know if you skipped the part where I said that people don't mean it literally when used casually in a conversation. Nobody's trying to fit a standard, they're just saying they really like something.

Well, that's the formula for the area inside a circle, but I get your meaning:

 

The sum of all points from a given point x at constant distance y on a 2 dimensional Euclidean plane.

 

Still, this kind of perfection can only exist in the realm of ideas and can only be approximated in its construction in our universe. I know you didn't mean "the best shape", but people frequently confuse the notion of ideal perfection with the notion of an inappropriate objective standard to which everything must be measured against and judged based on how closely it conforms. I just wanted to explicitly state they're not the same.

That is not a perfect circle. Its the worng color and there is a single atom that is a infinitieth of the size of an electron out of place on the right side somewhere.

Actually if you examine any atom you'll find it's not where it's supposed to be. Atoms are individually nowhere with only the probability of being at location x. Things as we know them only exist in aggregate, the sum of all prbabilitites. But look closely enough and none of it exists in a way that we would recognize.

[Poetic Stone 1,040]

I said no on this perfection is something only in your dreams, or t.v., and movies. We my strive for it, but I don't think it is reachable.