Oscar_Cunningham comments on Heuristics and Biases in Charity - Less Wrong

21 Post author: Kaj_Sotala 02 March 2012 03:20PM

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Comment author: Oscar_Cunningham 02 March 2012 06:34:59PM 4 points [-]

There's a quote about this:

Perfect is the enemy of good.

Commonly attributed to Voltaire

Comment author: Bugmaster 02 March 2012 06:46:11PM 1 point [-]

It's also a common Russian saying, FWIW. Maybe we ripped it off from Voltaire, though.

Comment author: vi21maobk9vp 03 March 2012 11:01:19AM 3 points [-]

In Russian, it is even more blunt - "better is the enemy of good", without superlative associated with perfect.

Comment author: Bugmaster 03 March 2012 08:43:56PM 0 points [-]

Yes, I suppose I mistranslated "luchshiy". Good call.

Comment author: RichardKennaway 03 March 2012 05:05:34PM 0 points [-]

Definitive Voltairean wording and source (although Voltaire himself attributes it to an unnamed "Italian sage"):

Comment author: magfrump 03 March 2012 03:08:15AM 0 points [-]

I saw somewhere on this site (maybe the quotes page?)

Perfect is the enemy of good enough, and good enough is the enemy of at all.