the notion of perfection

The notion of perfection is necessary as a template, something to aim for, a map.

But it is not the territory. The territory is ugly, messy, sometimes beuatiful at dawn, but otherwise a right old hodge podge.

People try and make the territory perfect and forget that it never can be. Knowing when to ditch the notion of perfection and when to use it as a spur is the skill you need to acquire.

More damage has been done by people misusing perfection as a concept than almost anything else bar rank stupidity.