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NancyLebovitz comments on Rationality Quotes February 2012 - Less Wrong
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I've never been able to make sense out of that. It sounds very tough and definite, but what does it mean?
This is sort of what I say to remind myself that having read some of something isn't a sufficient reason to finish it.
I pasted it into Google just now and found this article quoting it in a similar context.
I agree. It's not... quite.... complete.
Let's chop it off. (Let's keep it at 0 points).
There, now it's complete.
I guess it's re-stating Antoine de Saint Exupéry's "It seems that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove".
I don't think that's quite right. To me it sounds more like: "In a harsh enough environment, the wrong kind of perfectionism can distract from matters more pertinent to your survival."
The quote needn't be taken as approving. Muad'Dib wanted to avoid the jihad he unleashed, even though he eventually came to see it as necessary. If you take it as neutral reporting of how the Fremen think, it could be taken as a comment on how circumstances shape your thinking, or as a caution against allowing no-longer-extant circumstances to constrain you.