90% of everything is crap

Today is the day I discovered Sturgeon’s law:

Ninety percent of everything is crap.

Sturgeon’s law

I like this for a lot of reasons. But most of all, I like it as a nudge to try harder to enjoy things.

Think you hate poetry? Roller coasters? Banjo music? Thai food? Maybe you haven’t discovered the good 10% yet. Keep looking.

How about work? Think QA engineers are useless? Code review is a waste of time? Managers hurt more than they help? Maybe you’ve been stuck with the crap 90% of them. Keep looking.

Then there’s relationships. Think there’s no one out there who can make you happy? Maybe you haven’t climbed out of your 90% of crappy relationships yet. Keep looking.

It reminds me of a quote I read recently:

Keep your identity small. “I’m not the kind of person who does things like that” is not an explanation, it’s a trap. It prevents nerds from working out and men from dancing. 

Conor Barnes

Remember: strong opinions, loosely held. If you think you hate something, hold that opinion loosely by putting it to the test. Try to prove it false.

Don’t be so quick to accept that something is not for you. Keep looking.