The Quest For Perfection

Yesterday I was out on my motorcycle and in the blustery wind I was quickly realizing how rusty I had gotten over the winter. I know as the weather warms up more frequent saddle time will sharpen my lost skills and I will be back in top riding shape soon.  But what then?

During last weeks OO Camp there were several discussions about doing things the ‘right way’ and find the ‘perfect’ solution.  Today Ben Nadel has a very nice blog post on what he calls “Practical OO”.

Obviously, I won’t ever be closed to learning better ways of programming - I always want to know the “better” way; but, right now, I know that I am letting “Best” be the enemy of “Good.” Until I can find that “best” way, I might as well employ good practices.

I’ve been riding motorcycles for almost 30 years now and I gave up striving to be the ‘best’ a long time ago.  There is no ‘best’.  There will always be someone (or something) better than you. The road is constantly changing.

Just like coding there are hundreds of books written on how to be the ‘best’ motorcycle rider.  Best line around that corner?  Best braking percentage between front and rear?  Best suspension setup?

I have found that you can read books until you are blue in the face but nothing is going to teach you faster than getting on the bike and actually doing it!  I can honestly say during my worst rides I always learn something.

I plan on riding until I can’t physically sit on the bike anymore but I know I will never master the perfect corner and I would argue you could ask any MotoGP champion and they will tell you the same thing.

But every time I get on my bike, or behind my keyboard, I will tweak things and try something new.  And I hope the road never ends.