--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To an engineer, good enough means…" description: "\"To an engineer, good enough means perfect. With an artist, there's no such thing as perfect.\" — Alexander Calder" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/alexander-calder-22104_art_to-an-engineer-good-enough-means-perfect_844559.jpg" --- # To an engineer, good enough means perfect. With an artist… ![“To an engineer, good enough means perfect. With an artist, there's no such thing as perfect.” quote by Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/alexander-calder-22104_art_to-an-engineer-good-enough-means-perfect_844559.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/alexander-calder-22104_art_to-an-engineer-good-enough-means-perfect_844559.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/alexander-calder-22104_art_to-an-engineer-good-enough-means-perfect_844559.jpg) > “To an engineer, good enough means perfect. With an artist, there's no such thing as perfect.” [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Engineers aim for flawless functionality; artists embrace imperfection as creative. **In simple terms:** Engineers seek perfection; artists accept imperfection. Key Takeaway Value both precision and creativity. Themes engineering art perfection Mood instructive inspirational Type artistic technical When to use this quote - product development - creative projects - education curricula Key Concepts design theory creativity Questions to Reflect On - When is “good enough” sufficient? - How does imperfection inspire? A Different Perspective Perfection may stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) [Good enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-enough/) ## Related quotes > [If the snares are tight and the engineer was good and the rhymes are fly then it's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rev-run/if-the-snares-are-tight-and-the-engineer-was-good-and-the-rhymes-are/) [Rev. Run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rev-run/) > [All I ever really work for is to be a really good engineer, a good producer, a good executive, good in the world of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-iovine/all-i-ever-really-work-for-is-to-be-a-really-good-engineer-a-good/) [Jimmy Iovine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-iovine/) > [An engineer is someone who is good with figures, but doesn't have the personality of an accountant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-engineer-is-someone-who-is-good-with-figures-but-doesn-t-have-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the best things you can do to get on an engineer's good side is make him feel as much like a regular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-cooper/one-of-the-best-things-you-can-do-to-get-on-an-engineer-s-good-side/) [Sarah Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-cooper/) > [I wanted to be the perfect artist. I'd do three hours of media interviews a day, going to every radio station I could squeeze…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-black/i-wanted-to-be-the-perfect-artist-i-d-do-three-hours-of-media/) [Clint Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-black/) > [To walk with nature as a poet is the necessary condition of a perfect artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cole/to-walk-with-nature-as-a-poet-is-the-necessary-condition-of-a-perfect/) [Thomas Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cole/) > [The more perfect the artist, the more completely separate in him will be the man who suffers and the mind which creates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-more-perfect-the-artist-the-more-completely-separate-in-him-will/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [“You are divine, you are perfect, but as an artist, you create your own story and you have the illusion that the story is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-ruiz/you-are-divine-you-are-perfect-but-as-an-artist-you-create-your-own/) [Miguel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-ruiz/) > [Every man in creating the beautiful appearance of the dream worlds is a perfect artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-man-in-creating-the-beautiful-appearance-of-the-dream-worlds-is/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I never knew what an engineer did for a living when I was a kid. I still don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/i-never-knew-what-an-engineer-did-for-a-living-when-i-was-a-kid-i/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [I'm an engineer by trade, and what engineers do is they go and build, and they don't think a lot about storytelling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-kalanick/i-m-an-engineer-by-trade-and-what-engineers-do-is-they-go-and-build/) [Travis Kalanick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-kalanick/) > [I'm an artistic person and a creator. I'm not a scientific. I'm not an engineer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-laliberte/i-m-an-artistic-person-and-a-creator-i-m-not-a-scientific-i-m-not-an/) [Guy Laliberte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-laliberte/) > [“It was the engineer who determined what problems to investigate, designed the experiments, and defined the assignments for the mathematicians.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-lee-shetterly/it-was-the-engineer-who-determined-what-problems-to-investigate/) [Margot Lee Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-lee-shetterly/) > [“I like to think of myself more as an outcome engineer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/i-like-to-think-of-myself-more-as-an-outcome-engineer/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [It is a great profession. There is the fascination of watching a figment of the imagination emerge through the aid of science to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/it-is-a-great-profession-there-is-the-fascination-of-watching-a/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) ## More by Alexander Calder > [My fan mail is enormous. Everyone is under six.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/my-fan-mail-is-enormous-everyone-is-under-six/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [You see nature and then you try to emulate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/you-see-nature-and-then-you-try-to-emulate-it/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [Ralph Wiggum: I paint with shapes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/ralph-wiggum-i-paint-with-shapes/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [The simplest forms in the universe are the sphere and the circle. I represent them by disks and then I vary them... spheres of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/the-simplest-forms-in-the-universe-are-the-sphere-and-the-circle-i/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [My fingers always seem busier than my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/my-fingers-always-seem-busier-than-my-mind/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [To most people who look at a mobile, it's no more than a series of flat objects that move. To a few, though, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/to-most-people-who-look-at-a-mobile-it-s-no-more-than-a-series-of/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [The underlying sense of form in my work has been the system of the Universe, or part thereof...What I mean is that the idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/the-underlying-sense-of-form-in-my-work-has-been-the-system-of-the/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [About my method of work: first it’s the state of mind—Elation (joy).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/about-my-method-of-work-first-it-s-the-state-of-mind-elation-joy/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I love red so much, I almost want to paint everything red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/i-love-red-so-much-i-almost-want-to-paint-everything-red/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I paint with shapes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/i-paint-with-shapes/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I have been making wire jewelry - and think I'll really do something with it, eventually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/i-have-been-making-wire-jewelry-and-think-i-ll-really-do-something/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [Just as one can compose colors, or forms, so one can compose motions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/just-as-one-can-compose-colors-or-forms-so-one-can-compose-motions/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [My whole theory about art is the disparity that exists between form, masses and movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/my-whole-theory-about-art-is-the-disparity-that-exists-between-form/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [That others grasp what I have in mind seems unessential, at least as long as they have something else in theirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/that-others-grasp-what-i-have-in-mind-seems-unessential-at-least-as/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) [Explore all 28 Alexander Calder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To an engineer, good enough means perfect. 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