If practice makes perfect, but nobody's perfect, why practice?

Question

Just wondering.

Answer 1

congratulations on asking a great question. the answer can be summed up like this; the goal of a journey is not the destination it is in the learning along the way. again, great question. i am impressed. have a great day.

Answer 2

It is not that perfection cannot be achieved, it is that perfection cannot be sustained or maintained.

Imagine, if you will, standing at the foot of a mountain. All of your energy is directed in only one direction, up, because you cannot get any lower. When you reach the top, there is no place to direct that energy, since you are as high up as it is possible, except in its opposite direction. When energy reaches its apex or nadir, its top or its bottom, all the energy afterwards can only do one thing, move in the opposite direction. And even if you use energy to sustain the position, it must be done constantly; otherwise, the energy will follow its natural course in forcing you 'down' the mountain.

A gymnast may achieve a 'perfect' sommersault, but once all that energy, direction, and motivation is used to perform the sommersault, the gymnast then becomes Sue Johnson or Randy Dexter. The performing gymnast was the point of perfection, so its possible for the gymanst to perform a perfect 10 and for Sue Johnson to slip and twist her ankle walking back to the coaches.

Moments of perfection or glory or height are what compel us when we are least pefect or gloriful or all that great. Our heights bring us out of our depths, and our depths make us appreciate our heights.

Answer 3

Nobody is perfect in everything. It is impossible, to be perfect in everything. But if you practice hard enough you can be perfect in one specific thing. So lets say your learning how to drive and cant parallel park, then do what people say. Practice makes perfect. So you practice so much you become the perfect parallel parker. BUT! You suck on driving on highways.

Answer 4

Assuming that you're not making a joke...

Because, although perfection cannot be attained, there is always room to improve. An practice causes improvement.

So, practice. You'll get better, even if not perfect.

Answer 5

You ask an excellent question. The answer is that

(1) It is just a saying. Sayings reduce actual truths in to "sayable" short sentences that often leave out crucial facts (as does Dr. Phil).

(2) No matter who you are, someone is better than you at something, possibly everything.

So why practice? You really don't have to. I mean no one is looking after you.

Answer 6

Because there is a wide spectrum between 'perfect' and 'awful'. With practice, although you may never be perfect, you will be nearer to it, than you would without practice.

Answer 7

its just a figure of speak meaning a lot of practice makes u really good but practice makes u really good doesnt sound good so they made it practice makes perfect (im guessing thats y)

Answer 8

Because practice helps eliminate imperfection considerably, and a person who has a lot of practice at doing something is usually considered an expert.

Answer 9

Yeah- that is kind of a crappy quote, isn't it? Change your definition of perfect. Success doesn't always mean perfection. And we all have different standards for success. Success could mean finishing that marathon, even though you came in last place. If you succeeded in what you set out to do, it was perfect.

Answer 10

to approach perfection as nearly as possible.

Sometimes you reach perfection: ever get a 100 on a test? That's as perfect as can be. Ever win a race? Same thing.

Answer 11

Most people want to be as good as they possibly can, at least in one area of their lives. Yes, no one is perfect, but one can try to do as well as they can. It's nice to excel in at least one area - and practice does make one better :)