Quantity Beats Quality
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| From Morguefile |
We've heard it a million times. And my daughter's violin teacher likes to say, "That's not true. Perfect practice makes perfect." Except, it turns out, THAT'S not necessarily true.
Turns out, it doesn't have to be perfect. The act of doing in sheer volume will perfect the doer... with a single caveat.
Feedback.
Read THIS ARTICLE.
Did you read it? I'll trust you.
So, the sheer volume of churning out...anything... the act of doing... makes one better. Provided that the doer analyzes the flaws, the errors, and the poor techniques. Some kind of feedback system has to be in place - internal or external - for this to succeed.
So I taught myself to play guitar 20 years ago. I learned to fret a D chord "wrong." Every time I fret it and someone who plays guitar looks at my hand they ask, "What are you playing?" I had no external feedback system to tell me "no, this way" and my internal feedback system said switching from G to D to C is easier if you hold your fingers this way... Not a big deal - but still "wrong" - not "perfect." Sigh...
However, after 20,000 or so D chords... it's how I'm gonna play a D - I CAN play it perfectly. I simply choose not to. Which is even more okay. Once you know the rules, you are allowed to break them - that's a rule*.
But feedback allows the quantity to become quality. That's why writers are told to simply write. Write two pages a day. Write anything. Just write.
Songwriters have to write. Painters have to paint. Singers have to sing.
Let me get spiritual here... Christ followers have to follow. We have to love. We have to do that EVERY DAY. We'll be bad at it at times...but the quantity of doing it will make the quality of it get better over time... with feedback (from the Holy Spirit and other Followers...)
*Well, maybe it's not, but it should be...
Comments
For example they relate to it by stating “Kobe made his shot great by making 2000 shots a day, not taking—making.”
The overall consensus would disagree with this claim as to making a hobby or sport perfection they would excel and get good at it.
I personally would have to agree with the claim of quantity over quality as the more you do something the better you get at it to a degree.
Writers and publishers say “Perfect practice makes perfect” and that can’t be possible without repetition and continual practice.
People might also be resentful of this as well due to lack of patience that the world seems to have nowadays—as said by Ev Williams “Cut the bullshit this day and age sickens me and you all should be ashamed, the general public needs to know--to grow up and get over the idea that you’ll be perfect right away because whoever taught you that must not know that you’ll never do something perfect the first time.”
The author who arranged this must have grown up, and done things repetitively and not been appeased by the sounds of lazy haymakers trying to skid through life.
Quantity WITH feedback. Trusted feedback. Accurate feedback. Sure, I can churn out massive piles of garbage and never get better if I assume the massive piles are gold. But if there's feedback - particularly objective feedback that points out what is "good" and what is, well, not - then the piles begin to resemble gold more than garbage. The practice can't become perfect without feedback. Period. Can't happen. You'll just "fall into it" once or twice, sure - but that's not a formula for success. That's not replicable unless you're very, very lucky. And those who rely on luck are going to fail eventually. It never holds out. So - writers, get to writing... painters, paint. Singers, sing. Builders, build. Christ followers, follow. And listen to the trusted feedback...