The Best is the Enemy of the Good

There is a saying, "The best is the enemy of the good. When I was reading "Signal & Noise," I came across this saying and it really hit home. It means exactly what it says. It means "It is an illusion to think that you can make the best choice. It is better not to aim for the best."

Adriaan de Froot, a Dutch psychologist, in his book on chess players, writes about the difference between professionals and amateurs as follows. In chess games, when faced with a problem, amateur players often get stuck, trying to make the perfect move. On the other hand, professionals know that in the limited time available to them, they cannot anticipate all of the many possible moves and find the best one. Therefore, they do not try to list all possible moves, but rather think about what move will give them the best possible situation. Of course, it is always best to do the best you can. But there is a limit to human ability. When we seek the best, we become impatient and forceful, and it becomes difficult for us to exert our true potential.

And in our obsession with the best, we may end up missing even the good (as I have experienced many times). And we may regret what has already happened, saying, "If only I had done my best at that time.... I have experienced this many times. I know that what has already happened will never change, so if I have time to regret, I should move on to the next thing. Also, what seems best from one point of view may not only not be the best, but may not be that good from another point of view. What you think is just good or bad may be close to the best when you think about it later. The next time you find yourself looking for the best. I will say to myself, "Well, let's just calm down and take a deep breath.

References

• Signal & Noise: The "Predictive Science" of a Genius Data Analyst