--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think seeking perfection in human…" description: "\"I think seeking perfection in human affairs is a perfect way to destroy them.\" — Jaron Lanier" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa1/jaron-lanier-2241_affair_i-think-seeking-perfection-in-human-affa_1322140.png" --- # I think seeking perfection in human affairs is a perfect… ![“I think seeking perfection in human affairs is a perfect way to destroy them.” quote by Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa1/jaron-lanier-2241_affair_i-think-seeking-perfection-in-human-affa_1322140.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa1/jaron-lanier-2241_affair_i-think-seeking-perfection-in-human-affa_1322140.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa1/jaron-lanier-2241_affair_i-think-seeking-perfection-in-human-affa_1322140.png) > “I think seeking perfection in human affairs is a perfect way to destroy them.” [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pursuing flawless outcomes in social systems leads to their collapse, as rigidity stifles adaptability and humanity. **In simple terms:** Perfectionism harms human systems. Key Takeaway Embrace imperfection and flexibility. Themes perfectionism humanity systems flexibility risk Mood cautious reflective Type philosophical critical inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - software development - organizational culture - education reform Key Concepts complexity systems theory human-centered design Questions to Reflect On - How does striving for perfection limit innovation? - What benefits arise from accepting flaws? A Different Perspective Perfection can be unattainable and may ignore valuable diversity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affair/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Perfection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfection/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [You will never find love if what you're seeking is perfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-find-love-if-what-you-re-seeking-is-perfection/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Seeking perfection, Ross . . . in life it’s dangerous, for it makes the less than perfect seem less than enough. Time is not indefinite.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-graham/seeking-perfection-ross-in-life-it-s-dangerous-for-it-makes-the-less/) [Winston Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-graham/) > [“Perfect' - the most misattributed word in English language A 'perfect' thing can never be improved - at least by what the meaning implies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eniitan-akinola/perfect-the-most-misattributed-word-in-english-language-a-perfect/) [Eniitan Akinola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eniitan-akinola/) > [What is creative is the seeking of perfection - and not attaining it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/what-is-creative-is-the-seeking-of-perfection-and-not-attaining-it/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [I've never believed in seeking perfection at the risk of losing everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-chretien/i-ve-never-believed-in-seeking-perfection-at-the-risk-of-losing/) [Jean Chretien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-chretien/) > [If you are seeking for perfection then you must spend time as much as you can, It will be worthless to seek perfection but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashok-singh-chauhan/if-you-are-seeking-for-perfection-then-you-must-spend-time-as-much-as/) [Ashok Singh Chauhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashok-singh-chauhan/) > [“JANUARY 26 GIVE UP THE ILLUSION that you deserve a problem-free life. Part of you is still hungering for the resolution of all difficulties.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-young/january-26-give-up-the-illusion-that-you-deserve-a-problem-free-life/) [Sarah Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-young/) > [Seeking perfection just ends up creating ridiculous amounts of stress and disappointment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arielle-ford/seeking-perfection-just-ends-up-creating-ridiculous-amounts-of-stress/) [Arielle Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arielle-ford/) > [No government is ever going to get it perfect. The job of policymakers is to continue seeking perfection and making it better and constantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-lopez-cantera/no-government-is-ever-going-to-get-it-perfect-the-job-of-policymakers/) [Carlos Lopez-Cantera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-lopez-cantera/) > [All the goodness, beauty, and perfection of a human being belong to the one who knows how to recognize these qualities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgette-leblanc/all-the-goodness-beauty-and-perfection-of-a-human-being-belong-to-the/) [Georgette Leblanc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgette-leblanc/) > [There is every reason to believe that our system will soon attain the highest degree of perfection of which human institutions are capable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-monroe/there-is-every-reason-to-believe-that-our-system-will-soon-attain-the/) [James Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-monroe/) > [What we call our joy, God calls our perfection. Each human being has come into the world with the message of perfection. Each human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/what-we-call-our-joy-god-calls-our-perfection-each-human-being-has/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [“But no matter what gifts we're given, we can never apply them to perfection because we're human, after all, and given to error.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-no-matter-what-gifts-we-re-given-we-can-never-apply-them-to/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [The highest perfection of human life consists in the mind of man being detached from care, for the sake of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/the-highest-perfection-of-human-life-consists-in-the-mind-of-man/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [Tough and funny and a little bit kind: that is as near to perfection as a human being can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/tough-and-funny-and-a-little-bit-kind-that-is-as-near-to-perfection/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) ## More by Jaron Lanier > [If we allow our self-congratulatory adoration of technology to distract us from our own contact with each other, then somehow the original agenda has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/if-we-allow-our-self-congratulatory-adoration-of-technology-to/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Individual web pages as they first appeared in the early 1990s had the flavour of person-hood. MySpace preserved some of that flavour, though a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/individual-web-pages-as-they-first-appeared-in-the-early-1990s-had/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Style used to be an interaction between the human soul and tools that were limiting. In the digital era, it will have to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/style-used-to-be-an-interaction-between-the-human-soul-and-tools-that/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [We should talk about the ultimate cause of war. 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We really have to revive the beautiful intellectual joy of it, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/we-re-losing-track-of-the-vastness-of-the-potential-for-computer/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Of all the things you can spend a lot of money on, the only things you expect to fail frequently are software and medicine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/of-all-the-things-you-can-spend-a-lot-of-money-on-the-only-things-you/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [ At the turn of the \[21st\] century it was really Sergey Brin at Google who just had the thought of, well, if we give… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/at-the-turn-of-the-21st-century-it-was-really-sergey-brin-at-google/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [The mass culture of childhood right now is astonishingly technical. Little kids know their Unix path punctuation so they can get around the Web,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/the-mass-culture-of-childhood-right-now-is-astonishingly-technical/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Wal-Mart impoverished its own customer base. Google is facing exactly the same issue long-term, although not yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/wal-mart-impoverished-its-own-customer-base-google-is-facing-exactly/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) [Explore all 173 Jaron Lanier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) ## More Affair quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. 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Of course, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vita-sackville-west/for-a-young-man-to-start-his-career-with-a-love-affair-with-an-older/) [Vita Sackville-West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vita-sackville-west/) > [As long as the state permits itself to interfere in the affairs of literature, literature has the right to interfere with the affairs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/as-long-as-the-state-permits-itself-to-interfere-in-the-affairs-of/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Love is mainly an affair of short spasms. If these spasms disappoint us, love dies. It is very seldom that it weathers the experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/love-is-mainly-an-affair-of-short-spasms-if-these-spasms-disappoint/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [The Fundamental Principle that governs - or ought to govern -human affairs if we wish to avoid misunderstandings, conflicts, or pointless utopias, is negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-fundamental-principle-that-governs-or-ought-to-govern-human/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [My hope does not rest in the affairs of this world. It rests in Christ who is coming again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/my-hope-does-not-rest-in-the-affairs-of-this-world-it-rests-in-christ/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [In 1953, the United States played a significant role in orchestrating the overthrow of Iran's popular prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh. The Eisenhower administration believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/in-1953-the-united-states-played-a-significant-role-in-orchestrating/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [Not everyone likes the stable, gradual rise of our country. There are some who are using the democratic ideology to interfere in our internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/not-everyone-likes-the-stable-gradual-rise-of-our-country-there-are/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [The archives recall not one single incriminating incident, not one drunken escapade, not one reported affair, not one spat with a team-mate or reporter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-atherton/the-archives-recall-not-one-single-incriminating-incident-not-one/) Michael Atherton > [“I ripped the sketch from the wall. "Liar." Edward looked more ravaged than usual. "That is a terrible word, coming from you." "Yup." 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