Two kinds of perfect

When I first started using Uber, I gave the drivers a lot of 3- and 4-star ratings, but never 5. I think I was just holding out for the best possible experience. After all, 5 stars is the maximum possible stars: a perfect score! So to achieve those lofty heights a driver would have to not merely be good, or even great, but perfect. Driving me from one place to another on its own is not impressive enough to justify 5 stars. What would be? Well, I never found out, because it never happened.

I think of that kind of perfect as perfect-complete. The idea that perfection is measured by how much is done, and true perfection can only be achieved when you do everything. A perfect Uber driver would surely do more than just drive! I assume that's why they carry mints and bottled water now. Once everyone is doing that, maybe they'll give backrubs. Perfect-complete is an unattainable goal, because there's always some way to do more, some bigger scope you could fit your perfect-complete thing into where it will no longer seem complete.

Later on, after realising the absurdity of holding on to my 5th star for a driver who would do my taxes or bear my firstborn, I started rating drivers in a different way. I considered what the ideal experience I expected from a trip was. Surprisingly, mints and bottled water did not appear; I realised that what I wanted was to be taken to my location quickly by someone who was pleasant. That was all. Now most drivers get 5 stars unless they do something wrong.

I think of this second type as perfect-correct. It doesn't require doing everything, but it does require doing things properly. This kind of perfection is actually achievable, and what's more I think it is actually worth achieving. It's possible (and useful!) to define the limits of what you expect, and once that's done it's very satisfying to be able to nail down what perfect would be in some finitely-bounded way.

It's far too easy to set perfect-complete expectations that require skills, abilities, and resources far beyond what we have at the time. In the scrabble to achieve these perfect-complete things we can end up sacrificing a lot, including the perfect-correct quality of actually doing what was needed. The dream of that first kind of perfect can only be a disappointment, whereas the second is a path to taking pride in the craft of what you do.