Jonathan Bossenger

Many years ago, while attending a jiu-jitsu seminar as a white belt, the seminar instructor said something that’s resonated with me ever since.

Contrary to the popular phrase, practice alone does not make perfect. If you practice incorrectly, all you will do is make an incorrect practice perfect. Rather, perfect practice makes perfect. Whenever you drill something, drill it as methodically and as perfectly as you can. That way you will learn it deeply, and be able to apply it more successfully in the future.

I’m paraphrasing, but it’s something that I’ve tried to maintain ever since, in both my own learning journey, my career in software development, and in the educational content I create.

Recently, I was watching one of my favourite movies, 2003’s The Last Samurai, and the idea of pursuing perfection was highlighted again. During the scene where Nathan Algren starts to learn about the people of Japan, he discovers the following:

They are an intriguing people. From the moment they wake they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they pursue. I have never seem such discipline.

They key there is discipline. One can only practice perfectly if one is disciplined to do so. Without focus through discipline, perfection is lost.

As we move deeper into this age of AI technologies I am reminded that while we can’t stop technological progress, we can continue to pursue perfection as we integrate these tools into our daily lives.

But it does require thoughtfulness and discipline. Thoughtfulness to evaluate all the the tools, and how we choose to use them, and the discipline to learn these tools deeply, discovering their strengths and their flaws, in order to maximize their potential while minimizing the negative outcomes that could occur.

If we do not, what we create will be about as useful and possibly as dangerous as giving a loaded firearm to a 2 year old.