Perfectionism versus Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Re:Perfectionism versus Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by danieltillett on Saturday August 05, 2017 @11:33PM (#14939520)

Has anyone met an actual perfectionist (i.e. someone who produces near perfect work)? All the "perfectionists" I have met are either delusional (i.e. their output is far from perfect), or who are just slow and who use it as an excuse for their lack of productivity.

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Re:Perfectionism versus Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by watwut on Sunday August 06, 2017 @02:06AM (#14939994)

Perfectionists don't produce perfect work. As described in article, they obess with details, lists, loose sight of big picture and then can't finish work (half of task being perfected other still untouched ) or finish it after very long time.

I met some people who did very little mistakes. In anything non trivial there tend to be differences of opinion about what is perfect solution.

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Re:Perfectionism versus Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by danieltillett on Sunday August 06, 2017 @03:25AM (#14940198)

I understand what the clinical definition of a perfectionist is - I was more interested to know if anyone had met an actual perfectionist.

The people I have met who have produced the best solutions are the least like the clinical definition of a perfectionist - they are efficient, see the big picture, and pump out the best (or near best) answer first time.

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Re:Perfectionism versus Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by ignoramous on Sunday August 06, 2017 @12:01AM (#14939592)

I guess, in their eyes, it doesn't have to be universally near-perfect. But near-perfect in a context that... given their limits of knowledge, skill, and the time span, this is the best they could have done.

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Re:Perfectionism versus Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by colordrops on Saturday August 05, 2017 @11:39PM (#14939534)

No, but I've met people who strive for perfection and know when to let go.

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Re:Perfectionism versus Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by danieltillett on Sunday August 06, 2017 @03:15AM (#14940170)

That person is not a perfectionist :)

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Re:Perfectionism versus Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by Grustaf on Sunday August 06, 2017 @02:37AM (#14940068)

There was a huge spike in pseudo-perfectionists after Steve Jobs died, people seemed to think that if they are picky enough they will be perceived as geniuses.

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Re:Perfectionism versus Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by quickthrower2 on Sunday August 06, 2017 @03:31AM (#14940211)

Source?

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Re:Perfectionism versus Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by Grustaf on Sunday August 06, 2017 @07:15AM (#14940850)

You can use me as a source if you want to include it in an academic paper.

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Re:Perfectionism versus Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by quickthrower2 on Sunday August 06, 2017 @03:49PM (#14943087)

Then you could cite the paper. But my reference checker robot will throw a stack overflow exception.

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Re:Perfectionism versus Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by yvhhjbb on Sunday August 06, 2017 @07:02AM (#14940815)

What's it with all the idiots replying "Source?" to every I-just-pulled-this-out-of-my-ass-but-I-like-sounding-authoritative comment on the internet?

Please stop. Thanks.

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Re:Perfectionism versus Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by ams6110 on Sunday August 06, 2017 @01:19PM (#14942236)

When someone makes a statement that sounds potentially plausible-and-interesting but could also be pulled-out-of-ass then asking for some evidence isn't unreasonable.

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Re:Perfectionism versus Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by quickthrower2 on Sunday August 06, 2017 @03:45PM (#14943062)

What's with all the clowns replying "please stop" to unsubstantive comments. Everyone thinks they're a "dan-g" nowadays.

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Re:Perfectionism versus Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by yvhhjbb on Monday August 07, 2017 @03:02AM (#14945814)

Surely you mean dang? He's not that blunt, thank goodness. If you're looking for a faux-moderator, there's a guy around going by gzrm or something like that.

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Re:Perfectionism versus Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by quickthrower2 on Monday August 07, 2017 @03:07AM (#14945831)

I didn't want to ambiguate with dang as in "damn!" which is sometimes exclaimed on HN.

dang is polite, he does say "please stop" sometimes which is fair enough.

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