Numbers and Siralan
Although this is nerdy and predictable coming from me, I remember the time when people starting giving it 101%. I remember the awe I felt when I first heard that. Wow! You took everything you had, all your energy and capacities and *still* you gave more. You gave more than you were actually capable of giving. That sorta works, I guess. But then, if *everyone* is giving their all, plus a little bonus, then that little bonus isn't really enough. So people started giving it 102%. Amazing! You gave your all, and after that you still managed to squeeze out one last effort...and *then* you still had enough left over to do the same again. The reason I'm thinking about this is that I'm watching The (UK) Apprentice for the first time ever, due to the influence of the place I shall not name.
My first instinct, using my vast numeracy, is to feel that I could win the show hands down. I would just blow them out of the water - I'd give my clichés 100 trillion per cent. Contrary to received wisdom in math, this is an arms race I am sure I could win. What? You can always add one to a number to make it bigger? Well, I would add 500 billion. You'd never catch me.
But I notice that they don't just pick stupidly big numbers. No one gives it a googolplex per cent. So I wonder if there is an upper limit to what you can pick, so as not to draw attention to the fact that you are just saying something pretty meaningless and making it sound hard and rational by sticking a number on it. At the moment, the limit seems to be around the 120% mark. While the odd brave person might stray into 150% territory, I don't think the world is ready for it yet. And I wonder if the whole thing breaks down at a certain point - when I am giving it 200%, doing twice as much as I reckoned I could handle from that start, you have to start wondering if thats just because I am dishonest and lazy
My first instinct, using my vast numeracy, is to feel that I could win the show hands down. I would just blow them out of the water - I'd give my clichés 100 trillion per cent. Contrary to received wisdom in math, this is an arms race I am sure I could win. What? You can always add one to a number to make it bigger? Well, I would add 500 billion. You'd never catch me.
But I notice that they don't just pick stupidly big numbers. No one gives it a googolplex per cent. So I wonder if there is an upper limit to what you can pick, so as not to draw attention to the fact that you are just saying something pretty meaningless and making it sound hard and rational by sticking a number on it. At the moment, the limit seems to be around the 120% mark. While the odd brave person might stray into 150% territory, I don't think the world is ready for it yet. And I wonder if the whole thing breaks down at a certain point - when I am giving it 200%, doing twice as much as I reckoned I could handle from that start, you have to start wondering if thats just because I am dishonest and lazy