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Pithy sayings are lossily compressed.

Yes.

For example: The common saying, "Anything worth doing is worth doing [well/poorly]" needs more qualifiers. As it is, the opposite respective advice can often be just as useful. I.E. not very.

Better V1: "The cost/utility ratio of beneficial actions at minimum cost are often less favorable than they would be with greater investment."

Better V2: "If an action is beneficial, a flawed attempt may be preferable to none at all."

However, these are too wordy to be pithy and in pop culture transmission accuracy is generally sacrificed in favor of catchiness.