I would like to dwell on this a little further before moving on by sharing an experience I once had with someone who did not share my views. When I proclaimed that I was capable of learning anything, the response I got was predictable. What followed afterwards bewildered me even to this day and seems like a good foundation for a debate.
Providing you have read my previous posts, it is not news to learn that I personally believe I have the capability to learn anything. Furthermore I believe that this ability extends to everyone. The most predictable response I get from people who do not share this belief is something similar to
"That's very arrogant of you"
This is a perfectly acceptable statement to make and certainly has a degree of truth to it. I have not tried to learn everything, therefore how could I possibly know that I am capable of such a task? It's fair to say I will never know if I am capable of learning everything, unless I happen to come across something that I cannot learn for one reason or another. Which when you look at it that way, means I am more likely to discover an inability to learn than I am to prove my ability to learn. I'm basing my opinions on what I know about myself and how I perceive the world and the people around me, similar to what other people do when they tell me I am arrogant.
What stumped me however was that one such person, only minutes after proclaiming that (and I quote) it was "ridiculous" to think in such ways, then proclaimed themselves that they aim for perfection in everything they do.
This sparked a thought in my head, which I would like your opinions on. To me at least the claims:
"I can learn anything"
and
"I can become perfect at something"
are very much two sides of the same coin. Both are rather extreme statements to make, neither one of which could ever be proven. What confused me further was that the person telling me that my opinion was "ridiculous" did not see the relationship between what I had said and what they had just said. To strive for perfection at something was somehow more justifiable than to learn as much as possible.
This is where I would like your thoughts and opinions. My brain cannot comprehend perfection and if anything I see it as a perspective. Trying to achieve perfection requires your action to be flawless and for the people around you to see it this way. Can you ever satisfy everyone's opinion with your actions? Is perfection attainable in any sense of the word?
Providing you have read my previous posts, it is not news to learn that I personally believe I have the capability to learn anything. Furthermore I believe that this ability extends to everyone. The most predictable response I get from people who do not share this belief is something similar to
"That's very arrogant of you"
This is a perfectly acceptable statement to make and certainly has a degree of truth to it. I have not tried to learn everything, therefore how could I possibly know that I am capable of such a task? It's fair to say I will never know if I am capable of learning everything, unless I happen to come across something that I cannot learn for one reason or another. Which when you look at it that way, means I am more likely to discover an inability to learn than I am to prove my ability to learn. I'm basing my opinions on what I know about myself and how I perceive the world and the people around me, similar to what other people do when they tell me I am arrogant.
What stumped me however was that one such person, only minutes after proclaiming that (and I quote) it was "ridiculous" to think in such ways, then proclaimed themselves that they aim for perfection in everything they do.
This sparked a thought in my head, which I would like your opinions on. To me at least the claims:
"I can learn anything"
and
"I can become perfect at something"
are very much two sides of the same coin. Both are rather extreme statements to make, neither one of which could ever be proven. What confused me further was that the person telling me that my opinion was "ridiculous" did not see the relationship between what I had said and what they had just said. To strive for perfection at something was somehow more justifiable than to learn as much as possible.
This is where I would like your thoughts and opinions. My brain cannot comprehend perfection and if anything I see it as a perspective. Trying to achieve perfection requires your action to be flawless and for the people around you to see it this way. Can you ever satisfy everyone's opinion with your actions? Is perfection attainable in any sense of the word?
To quote a line from a song that most people I know believe to be complete tosh - "True perfection has to be imperfect" - it's right.
ReplyDeleteThere is no way to prove perfection in the eye of the beholder as well as the eye of the bystander, as ideals on what is perfect differ from being to being. To say a job is complete to a 100% could be classed as being perfect, but someone will still argue it is not because it could have been completed with a little more finesse, or in a different way, or earlier than it was. It really is impossible to please everyone, let alone get everyone to agree on perfection. To strive to reach your own personal views of perfection is an perfectly acceptable and even encouraged statement to make, but to announce the statement that you strive for overall perfection could be seen as an arrogant statement. The only way it would ever be possible to achieve any small degree of overall perfection would be by learning as much as possible, so as to understand as much as possible and meet it. Perfection can only be gained threw knowledge, and knowledge comes only from learning. Until you learn everything can you only then state that you can strive for perfection, which you know you will not reach because you have the knowledge to be aware of the contradictions that prevent it.
Blimey...Kudos on that response!
DeleteWe can learn anything we want. We either learn it
ReplyDeleteWith accuracy, fluency, or master it totally. So we can all learn a new skill but at different degrees and levels
I am a perfect masturbater. I feel i satisfy everyone when I masterbate to a degree of perfection that all can agree to.
ReplyDelete