[lit-ideas] Re: Conscious after the fact?

On Mon, Jun 30, 2008 at 8:42 AM, Robert Paul <rpaul@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

>
> I've been wondering here about the relationship between something's being
> 'good enough' (where satisfaction is the criterion of its being so) and
> something's being optimal, and what I'm suggesting is that not only does the
> former often entail the latter, but that to draw a distinction between them
> may require an illicit value judgment on the part of someone other than the
> agent.
>

In business and other practical affairs the difference between good enough
and optimal is often the result of deadlines. The deadline approaches, none
of the suggested solutions seems ideal, but a decision has to be made. If an
option that is deemed good enough is on the table, that is the one chosen
and acted upon. Calling it "optimal in the circumstances" might be
theoretically possible. It would, however, miss the "oh, well" lingering
dissatisfaction that accompanies such decisions.

I can still recall my father and uncles referring to rough and ready
solutions to mechanical or other technical problems as "good enough for
government work," by which they meant something that would  patch the
problem until a better solution could be found.

One thinks, too, of sports. There are endless examples of goals or points
scored in ugly ways, e.g., through an opponent's clumsiness or an accidental
deflection that delivers a ball to the right place through what appears to
be sheer accident. Rarer and more treasured by fans are moments when goals
or points are scored with breathtaking grace and beauty.

John




-- 
John McCreery
The Word Works, Ltd., Yokohama, JAPAN
Tel. +81-45-314-9324
http://www.wordworks.jp/

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