The 85% Rule where Perfection is never attainable.

The 85% Rule where Perfection is never attainable by David E. Smith of Banks, Oregon

Abstract: In all areas of endeavor, desire for perfection exists at the onset of any project, but perfection does not exist at the end of the same project. The Rule governing this is proposed as the 85% Rule which governs returns on investment of resources in efforts of the pursuit of happiness over perfection as a consequence. So when is Enough of a return sufficient to become Good Enough to end the project at its most acceptable result? This is a moral consideration and therefore the 85% Rule is a Moral Calculus and within the boundless precepts of Moral Consequentialism.

Enough is a moral threshold which, once met, constitutes a level of utility, or happiness, in those efforts where happiness is an expressed goal. To accept the outcomes as sufficient to our needs and cease striving further to achieve what might be imagined as perfection in the result, one might say this is a level of enough, or a good enough result. The amount of effort and resources necessary to achieve Enough is being put forth here as a universal constant. This is to say that if creating perfection is achievable using the 100% of resources and effort necessary to achieve 100% of perfection then, in all things, using 50% of those same resources and efforts will achieve 85% of the perfection in the outcome, at all times.

This 85% Rule on return on investment is objective and enough or good enough subjective.

This is the 85% Rule in action:

For all (A ) IF:

100% of desire (A) = 100% of Total Resources Available (A1)

AND

85% of desire (A) = 50% of (A1)

THEN

15% of desire (100-85) or (B) = 50% of (A1), or (B1)

Once this rule is enacted the result is to achieve 85% of any desired perfection, while only expending 50% of the resources available to achieve the same perfection. While not perfect, the result may well be economically efficient and this may be said to be Enough to satisfy the moral desire expressed with the minimum expenditure of resources. But the desire satisfied by the result, no matter how efficient, may not rise to the threshold of Good Enough and a Better result may be desired.

Better: The “85% Rule” is compounding. The result (B) becomes (A) in any second (or subsequent) iteration and so outcomes are an asymptote if tracked mathematically. 100% of perfected outcomes cannot be met no matter how many iterations of the 85% Rule are cycled. But one might wish for a Better outcome than that found in the initial (A) = (A1) exemplar and so continue trading resources for outcomes in the pursuit of Better:

IF (B) is 15% of (A) = 50% of (A1)

AND

85% of (B) = 50% of (B1)

THEN

12.75% of (A), now (C) = 25% of (A1), or (C1)

In this second iteration, of the 85% Rule, 97.75% of (A) is achieved using 75% of (A1). This is still quite efficient, but might be in excess of need and therefore potentially wasteful of resources and a less than Good moral result.

More: But one might wish for More and put forth additional the effort toward achieving 100% of desire. The 85% Rule is compounding, and so:

IF (C) is 12.75% of (A) = (C1) is 25% of (A1)

AND

85% of (C) = 50% of (C1)

THEN

1.9125% of (100-(C)) = 12.5% of (A1)

In this third iteration roughly 98% % of 100% is achieved by expending only 87.5% of resources. But since the economic return is diminishing at every step and 100% can never be achieved in the result, returns on effort become increasingly inefficient. Again, resource allocation remains constant, there is no cost over-run, and (A1) is never exceeded, but the economic return in happiness is diminishing in any and all areas of effort as the effects become smaller.

Conclusion: While never in excess of the resources available at the onset, More costs an increasingly larger percentage of resources at every iteration and returns a cumulative smaller result in an asymptote where 100% is never met and returns on investment diminished. This then becomes a moral consideration in all circumstances: If perfection cannot be met, then, is Enough the good which allows redirecting resources to other projects or thrift?