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PaperclipPerfector  6mo ago (text post)   2847 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 22, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

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I have spent quite some time doing nothing but consuming the creations of others wether it be media or ideologies, without ever creating something myself. Looking for what I find to be ideal from amongst the creations of others, I have realized that they will never be ideal in my eyes, and have begun to consider creating something that I can be directly in control of, rather than continuing on hoping that someone else will create something that I find to be ideal. Has anyone else felt this way? When you become a creator rather than a consumer, does this feeling of imperfection ever go away?

In my experience, trying to create something out of dissatisfaction with the imperfection of existing creations usually leads to an understanding of why all that exists is imperfect, but does not lead to perfection.

There are usually two types of people who make things, those that find great satisfaction in them and those that can't really stand their own creations and just want the reaction of others. I think the only way to find out if you'd be in the former category is to make something yourself as others have said. Apparently, Stephen Spielberg doesn't watch his own movies once they're in the can and Quentin Tarantino watches his own for fun.

Personally, I derive a lot of satisfaction from things I create but I've never gotten anything perfect so I always get a little caught up in the fact that the imperfection could be fixed. I end up liking what I make but if you think that your own work will be perfect because it's what you want it just doesn't work that way in my experience, I enjoy it a lot, yes, but I'm often blind to what I would easily see as imperfections had I been from the outside looking in. So, maybe for a little bit you get that feeling that you've made something purely satisfying all your needs but in my experience that fades whether because the luster fades and you notice your own faults or others tear it down for you.

But it still feels worth it. You might not write your ideal novel, make your ideal game, but it's hard not to make something you enjoy when you know what you want. I mean, you'll know pretty quickly if it's something worth it or not once you have something tangible to reflect on. It's definitely a different kind of satisfaction that's going to hit differently than consuming something from others, and people praising you (sometimes) is just icing on the cake. But if you're going for perfection you're gonna end up making something like TempleOS.

does this feeling of imperfection ever go away?

I've recorded dozens of songs and written a decent amount of fiction in my life, and in my experience - no, it does not. Some of the songs I can't bear to listen back to because of how bad they are, some of them I'm still quite proud of even if I notice little mistakes or things I would have done differently - but none of them sound "perfect" to me. And this is definitely one case in which the perfect is the enemy of the good - I would much rather release a good-but-flawed song, then spend a lifetime agonising over every minute detail to the point that I never release anything. I know more than one musician who meets the latter description exactly.

The standard advice is “go for it.” Art exists as permutations on what different people think is ideal on one axis or another. By all means, be fruitful and contribute to this chaotic buzz.

But I wouldn’t expect creating it to let you feel the same way as if you’d found it. Mostly because surprisal is an important part of consumption.

No comment on creating “ideologies.”

The standard advice is “go for it.”

Do it for you, not your audience.

If you really have an idea nobody else has thought of, you should hop to it before somebody else beats you to the punch! Good luck!!!

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