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← Perfection is unachievable because every goal involves trade-offs
17 connected korrents · 15 moments from 14 Apr 2011 to 23 Oct 2026.
Everything filed under ambition
ambition
Everything filed under agency
agency
Everything filed under innovation
innovation
Everything filed under motivation
motivation
Everything filed under happiness
happiness
Everything filed under humility
humility
Everything filed under AI alignment
AI alignment
Everything filed under war
war
Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject Same subject
Read this korrent: Perfection is unachievable because every goal involves trade-offs
Perfection is unachievable because every goal involves trade-offs
Last stated 4 years ago
17 May 2022
TB
Thorsten Ball — holds since 2022-05-17 — tap for who they are
Same subject: In a world where it's impossible to make purely moral decisions in everything we do, we should all recognize where we're making trade-offs and not try to paint ourselves as being purely logical. — tap to centre the map on it
In a world where it's impossible to make purely moral decisions in everything we do, we should all recognize where we're making trade-offs and not try to paint ourselves as being purely logical.
Last stated 3 weeks ago
14 Oct 2026
MB
Matt Birchler — holds since 2026-10-14 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Aiming to make an objectively great work is the wrong goal; make the best you can now and treat it as one of many. — tap to centre the map on it
Aiming to make an objectively great work is the wrong goal; make the best you can now and treat it as one of many.
Last stated 4 years ago
14 Dec 2022
DY
Derek Yu — holds since 2022-12-14 — tap for who they are
Same subject: The value of an ambitious experiment target is not hitting it but the conversation about what would have to be true to hit it. — tap to centre the map on it
The value of an ambitious experiment target is not hitting it but the conversation about what would have to be true to hit it.
Last stated a year ago
5 Oct 2025
AC
Albert Cheng — holds since 2025-10-05 — tap for who they are
Same subject: An end-to-end self-improving AI is probably possible, but it is not even desirable, because it is a hard-takeoff scenario. — tap to centre the map on it
An end-to-end self-improving AI is probably possible, but it is not even desirable, because it is a hard-takeoff scenario.
Last stated a year ago
23 Jul 2025
DH
Demis Hassabis — holds since 2025-07-23 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A military optimised for aesthetics and culture-war goals is not being optimised for efficiency or lethality. — tap to centre the map on it
A military optimised for aesthetics and culture-war goals is not being optimised for efficiency or lethality.
Last stated 2 months ago
26 Aug 2026
CR
Catherine Rampell — holds since 2026-08-26 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Entrepreneurs benefit from setting ambitious goals, even though most people do not need grand ambitions at all. — tap to centre the map on it
Entrepreneurs benefit from setting ambitious goals, even though most people do not need grand ambitions at all.
Last stated 2 months ago
26 Aug 2026
DH
David Heinemeier Hansson — holds since 2026-08-26 — tap for who they are
Same subject: The quest for superhuman powers cannot be separated from the quests for bliss and immortality — tap to centre the map on it
The quest for superhuman powers cannot be separated from the quests for bliss and immortality
YH
Yuval Noah Harari — holds since c. 2015–2017 — tap for who they are
Same subject: Only striving toward total perfection is sacred; institutions are machinery valued by how they help it — tap to centre the map on it
Only striving toward total perfection is sacred; institutions are machinery valued by how they help it
MA
Matthew Arnold — holds since c. 1867–1869 — tap for who they are
Same subject: "Follow your skill" is better advice for young people than "follow your passion". — tap to centre the map on it
"Follow your skill" is better advice for young people than "follow your passion".
Last stated 10 months ago
9 Jan 2026
AB
Andrew Bosworth — holds since 2026-01-09 — tap for who they are
Same subject: "Proxy action" - an easy task that feels like progress - lets people avoid the hard work of actually making progress. — tap to centre the map on it
"Proxy action" - an easy task that feels like progress - lets people avoid the hard work of actually making progress.
Last stated 2 months ago
8 Sept 2026
JF
Jason Feifer — holds since 2026-09-08 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A drop in agency is the earliest sign of burnout, arriving before you consciously notice you are burning out. — tap to centre the map on it
A drop in agency is the earliest sign of burnout, arriving before you consciously notice you are burning out.
Last stated 3 years ago
10 Jan 2024
CH
Cate Hall — holds since 2024-01-10 — tap for who they are
Same subject: "Lots of anonymous people worked it out by trial and error" is never the real story of an invention: on closer investigation, identifiable people always turn out to be responsible. — tap to centre the map on it
"Lots of anonymous people worked it out by trial and error" is never the real story of an invention: on closer investigation, identifiable people always turn out to be responsible.
Last stated 3 years ago
25 Oct 2023
AH
Anton Howes — holds since 2023-10-25 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A business can have market fit, real advantages, and sustained effort behind a hard product and still fail if it doesn't give customers a strong enough reason to switch from what they already use. — tap to centre the map on it
A business can have market fit, real advantages, and sustained effort behind a hard product and still fail if it doesn't give customers a strong enough reason to switch from what they already use.
Last stated 5 months ago
2 Jun 2026
JJ
Justin Jackson — holds since 2026-06-02 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A capability existing is not the same as a capability being absorbed: how fast a technology changes the world is not set by how fast the technology improves. — tap to centre the map on it
A capability existing is not the same as a capability being absorbed: how fast a technology changes the world is not set by how fast the technology improves.
Last stated 4 months ago
21 Jul 2026
RT
Ruxandra Teslo — holds since 2026-07-21 — tap for who they are
Same subject: "AI" systems are being used to distance the responsible humans from the impacts of their decisions. — tap to centre the map on it
"AI" systems are being used to distance the responsible humans from the impacts of their decisions.
Last stated 2 weeks ago
23 Oct 2026
AT
Adrian Tchaikovsky — holds since 2026-10-23 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A business can use stewardship of a community publication as a top-of-funnel customer acquisition strategy without needing the publication itself to generate revenue directly. — tap to centre the map on it
A business can use stewardship of a community publication as a top-of-funnel customer acquisition strategy without needing the publication itself to generate revenue directly.
Last stated a month ago
21 Sept 2026
CC
Chris Coyier — holds since 2026-09-21 — tap for who they are
Same subject: A CEO can master both peacetime and wartime leadership, but it is hard — tap to centre the map on it
A CEO can master both peacetime and wartime leadership, but it is hard
Last stated 16 years ago
14 Apr 2011
BH
Ben Horowitz — holds since 2011-04-14 — tap for who they are
same subject or similar wording a cloud: claims about one subject, named for it bar: when it was last stated, on a scale from 2011 to today (stretched back to the oldest claim here) — full is today a face: someone who holds the claim — tap it for who they are