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<div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Aphorism commonly attributed to Voltaire</div> <p><b>Perfect is the enemy of good</b> is an <a href="/wiki/Aphorism" title="Aphorism">aphorism</a> that means insistence on perfection often prevents implementation of good improvements. Achieving absolute <a href="/wiki/Perfection" title="Perfection">perfection</a> may be impossible; one should not let the struggle for perfection stand in the way of appreciating or executing on something that is imperfect but still of value. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Origin">Origin</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Perfect_is_the_enemy_of_good&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Origin"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div><p> In the English-speaking world the aphorism is commonly attributed to <a href="/wiki/Voltaire" title="Voltaire">Voltaire</a>, who quoted an Italian <a href="/wiki/Proverb" title="Proverb">proverb</a> in his <i><a href="/w/index.php?title=Questions_sur_l%27Encyclop%C3%A9die&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Questions sur l'Encyclopédie (page does not exist)">Questions sur l'Encyclopédie</a><span class="noprint" style="font-size:85%; font-style: normal;"> [<a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Questions_sur_l%27Encyclop%C3%A9die" class="extiw" title="fr:Questions sur l'Encyclopédie">fr</a>]</span></i> in 1770: "<span title="Italian-language text"><i lang="it">Il meglio è l'inimico del bene</i></span>".<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It subsequently appeared in his <a href="/wiki/Moral" title="Moral">moral</a> poem, <span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr"><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/fr:La_B%C3%A9gueule" class="extiw" title="s:fr:La Bégueule">La Bégueule</a></i></span>, which starts:<sup id="cite_ref-Hegel_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hegel-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style></p><blockquote class="templatequote"><p><span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr">Dans ses écrits, un sage Italien<br />Dit que le mieux est l'ennemi du bien.</i></span><br /><br />(In his writings, an Italian sage<br />says that the best is the enemy of the good.)</p></blockquote> <p>Previously, around 1726, in his <span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pens%C3%A9es_(Montesquieu)" class="extiw" title="fr:Pensées (Montesquieu)">Pensées</a></i></span>, <a href="/wiki/Montesquieu" title="Montesquieu">Montesquieu</a> wrote "<span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr">Le mieux est le mortel ennemi du bien</i></span>" ('The best is the mortal enemy of the good').<sup id="cite_ref-Shackleton_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shackleton-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Antecedents">Antecedents</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Perfect_is_the_enemy_of_good&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Antecedents"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Aristotle" title="Aristotle">Aristotle</a> and other classical philosophers propounded the principle of the <a href="/wiki/Golden_mean_(philosophy)" title="Golden mean (philosophy)">golden mean</a> which counsels against <a href="/wiki/Extremism" title="Extremism">extremism</a> in general.<sup id="cite_ref-Shahar_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shahar-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p> Its sense in English literature can be traced back to <a href="/wiki/William_Shakespeare" title="William Shakespeare">Shakespeare</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Allen_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Allen-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In his tragedy <i><a href="/wiki/King_Lear" title="King Lear">King Lear</a></i> (1606), the <a href="/wiki/Duke_of_Albany" title="Duke of Albany">Duke of Albany</a> warns of "striving to better, oft we mar what's well" and in <a href="/wiki/Sonnet_103" title="Sonnet 103">Sonnet 103</a>:<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"></p><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>Were it not sinful then, striving to mend,<br />To mar the subject that before was well?</p></blockquote> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Variations">Variations</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Perfect_is_the_enemy_of_good&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Variations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The 1893 <i>Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources</i> lists a similar proverb, which it claims is of <a href="/wiki/China" title="China">Chinese</a> provenance: "Better a <a href="/wiki/Diamond" title="Diamond">diamond</a> with a flaw than a pebble without one". </p><p>More recent applications include <a href="/wiki/Robert_Watson-Watt" title="Robert Watson-Watt">Robert Watson-Watt</a> propounding a "cult of the imperfect", which he stated as "Give them the third best to go on with; the second best comes too late, the best never comes";<sup id="cite_ref-Brown_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Brown-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> economist <a href="/wiki/George_Stigler" title="George Stigler">George Stigler</a>'s assertion that "If you never miss a plane, you're spending too much time at the airport";<sup id="cite_ref-Geiling_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Geiling-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Landsburg_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Landsburg-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and, in the field of <a href="/wiki/Program_optimization#When_to_optimize" title="Program optimization">computer program optimization</a>, <a href="/wiki/Donald_Knuth" title="Donald Knuth">Donald Knuth</a>'s statement that "Premature optimization is the root of all evil".<sup id="cite_ref-Knuth_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Knuth-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In marketing, the concept of "quality creep" is also recognised as counterproductive.<sup id="cite_ref-Monash_2023_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Monash_2023-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Perfect_is_the_enemy_of_good&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Gold_plating_(software_engineering)" class="mw-redirect" title="Gold plating (software engineering)">Gold plating (software engineering)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bert_Lance#If_it_ain't_broke,_don't_fix_it" title="Bert Lance">If it ain't broke, don't fix it</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nirvana_fallacy" title="Nirvana fallacy">Nirvana fallacy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Satisficing" title="Satisficing">Satisficing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Utopia" title="Utopia">Utopia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wabi-sabi" title="Wabi-sabi">Wabi-sabi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Worse_is_better" title="Worse is better">Worse is better</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/KISS_Principle" class="mw-redirect" title="KISS Principle">KISS Principle</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Perfect_is_the_enemy_of_good&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFVoltaire1770" class="citation book cs1">Voltaire (1770). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/questionssurlenc02volt/page/250/mode/2up"><i>Questions sur l'Encyclopédie, par des Amateurs</i></a>. Vol. 2. Geneva, Switzerland: (publisher not named). p. 250.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Questions+sur+l%27Encyclop%C3%A9die%2C+par+des+Amateurs&rft.place=Geneva%2C+Switzerland&rft.pages=250&rft.pub=%28publisher+not+named%29&rft.date=1770&rft.au=Voltaire&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fquestionssurlenc02volt%2Fpage%2F250%2Fmode%2F2up&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APerfect+is+the+enemy+of+good" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Hegel-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Hegel_2-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGeorg_Wilhelm_Friedrich_HegelAllen_W._WoodHugh_Barr_Nisbet1991" class="citation cs2"><a href="/wiki/Georg_Wilhelm_Friedrich_Hegel" title="Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel">Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel</a>; <a href="/wiki/Allen_W._Wood" title="Allen W. Wood">Allen W. Wood</a>; Hugh Barr Nisbet (1991), <i>Elements of the Philosophy of Right</i>, Cambridge University Press, p. 447, <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0521348881" title="Special:BookSources/978-0521348881"><bdi>978-0521348881</bdi></a></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Elements+of+the+Philosophy+of+Right&rft.pages=447&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=1991&rft.isbn=978-0521348881&rft.au=Georg+Wilhelm+Friedrich+Hegel&rft.au=Allen+W.+Wood&rft.au=Hugh+Barr+Nisbet&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APerfect+is+the+enemy+of+good" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Shackleton-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Shackleton_3-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFRobert_Shackleton1988" class="citation cs2"><a href="/wiki/Robert_Shackleton" title="Robert Shackleton">Robert Shackleton</a> (1988), <i>Essays on Montesquieu and on the Enlightenment</i>, Voltaire Foundation at the Taylor Institution, <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7294-0354-2" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-7294-0354-2"><bdi>978-0-7294-0354-2</bdi></a></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Essays+on+Montesquieu+and+on+the+Enlightenment&rft.pub=Voltaire+Foundation+at+the+Taylor+Institution&rft.date=1988&rft.isbn=978-0-7294-0354-2&rft.au=Robert+Shackleton&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APerfect+is+the+enemy+of+good" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Shahar-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Shahar_4-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFTal_Ben-Shahar2009" class="citation cs2"><a href="/wiki/Tal_Ben-Shahar" title="Tal Ben-Shahar">Tal Ben-Shahar</a> (2009), <i>The Pursuit of Perfect</i>, McGraw Hill Professional, p. 113, <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-07-160882-4" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-07-160882-4"><bdi>978-0-07-160882-4</bdi></a></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Pursuit+of+Perfect&rft.pages=113&rft.pub=McGraw+Hill+Professional&rft.date=2009&rft.isbn=978-0-07-160882-4&rft.au=Tal+Ben-Shahar&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APerfect+is+the+enemy+of+good" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Allen-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Allen_5-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFRobert_Allen2008" class="citation cs2">Robert Allen (2008), <i>Allen's Dictionary of English Phrases</i>, Penguin UK, pp. 242–243, <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0140515114" title="Special:BookSources/978-0140515114"><bdi>978-0140515114</bdi></a></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Allen%27s+Dictionary+of+English+Phrases&rft.pages=242-243&rft.pub=Penguin+UK&rft.date=2008&rft.isbn=978-0140515114&rft.au=Robert+Allen&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APerfect+is+the+enemy+of+good" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Brown-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Brown_6-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFL_Brown1999" class="citation cs2">L Brown (1999), <i>Technical and Military Imperatives: A Radar History of World War 2</i>, p. 64, <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781420050660" title="Special:BookSources/9781420050660"><bdi>9781420050660</bdi></a></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Technical+and+Military+Imperatives%3A+A+Radar+History+of+World+War+2&rft.pages=64&rft.date=1999&rft.isbn=9781420050660&rft.au=L+Brown&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APerfect+is+the+enemy+of+good" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Geiling-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Geiling_7-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFNatasha_Geiling2014" class="citation cs2">Natasha Geiling (23 June 2014), <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/case-missing-your-next-airline-flight-180951650/">"If You've Never Missed a Flight, You're Probably Wasting Your Time"</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Smithsonian_(magazine)" title="Smithsonian (magazine)">Smithsonian</a></i></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Smithsonian&rft.atitle=If+You%27ve+Never+Missed+a+Flight%2C+You%27re+Probably+Wasting+Your+Time&rft.date=2014-06-23&rft.au=Natasha+Geiling&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.smithsonianmag.com%2Ftravel%2Fcase-missing-your-next-airline-flight-180951650%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APerfect+is+the+enemy+of+good" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Landsburg-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Landsburg_8-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSteven_E._Landsburg2008" class="citation cs2">Steven E. Landsburg (2008), <i>More Sex Is Safer Sex: The Unconventional Wisdom of Economics</i>, Simon and Schuster, p. 224, <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781416532224" title="Special:BookSources/9781416532224"><bdi>9781416532224</bdi></a></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=More+Sex+Is+Safer+Sex%3A+The+Unconventional+Wisdom+of+Economics&rft.pages=224&rft.pub=Simon+and+Schuster&rft.date=2008&rft.isbn=9781416532224&rft.au=Steven+E.+Landsburg&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APerfect+is+the+enemy+of+good" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Knuth-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Knuth_9-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDonald_Knuth2015" class="citation cs2"><a href="/wiki/Donald_Knuth" title="Donald Knuth">Donald Knuth</a> (2015), Rubin H. Landau; Manuel J. Páez; Cristian C. Bordeianu (eds.), <i>Computational Physics</i>, Wiley, <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9783527413157" title="Special:BookSources/9783527413157"><bdi>9783527413157</bdi></a></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Computational+Physics&rft.pub=Wiley&rft.date=2015&rft.isbn=9783527413157&rft.au=Donald+Knuth&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APerfect+is+the+enemy+of+good" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Monash_2023-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Monash_2023_10-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.monash.edu/business/marketing/marketing-dictionary/q/quality-creep">"Quality Creep"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Monash_University_Faculty_of_Business_and_Economics#Monash_Business_School,_Australia" title="Monash University Faculty of Business and Economics">Monash Business School</a></i>. April 3, 2023<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">April 25,</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Monash+Business+School&rft.atitle=Quality+Creep&rft.date=2023-04-03&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.monash.edu%2Fbusiness%2Fmarketing%2Fmarketing-dictionary%2Fq%2Fquality-creep&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APerfect+is+the+enemy+of+good" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Perfect_is_the_enemy_of_good&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFEric_Johns1988" class="citation cs2">Eric Johns (October 1988), "Perfect is the Enemy of Good Enough", <i>U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings</i>: 37</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=U.S.+Naval+Institute+Proceedings&rft.atitle=Perfect+is+the+Enemy+of+Good+Enough&rft.pages=37&rft.date=1988-10&rft.au=Eric+Johns&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APerfect+is+the+enemy+of+good" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFRobert_Watson-Watt1957" class="citation cs2"><a href="/wiki/Robert_Watson-Watt" title="Robert Watson-Watt">Robert Watson-Watt</a> (1957), "The Cult of the Imperfect", <i>Three Steps to Victory</i>, Odhams, pp. 74–77</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=The+Cult+of+the+Imperfect&rft.btitle=Three+Steps+to+Victory&rft.pages=74-77&rft.pub=Odhams&rft.date=1957&rft.au=Robert+Watson-Watt&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APerfect+is+the+enemy+of+good" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Perfect_is_the_enemy_of_good&oldid=1258205289">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Perfect_is_the_enemy_of_good&oldid=1258205289</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Category</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Proverbs" title="Category:Proverbs">Proverbs</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_matches_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description matches Wikidata">Short description matches Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_containing_Italian-language_text" title="Category:Articles containing Italian-language text">Articles containing Italian-language text</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_containing_French-language_text" title="Category:Articles containing French-language text">Articles containing French-language text</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 18 November 2024, at 18:36<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. 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