HlaMin

Tag: Perfection

  • Practice

    Practice

    by Hla Min

    Updated : May 2025

    Wisdom

    • Conventional wisdom says, “Practice makes perfect.”
    • Unconventional wisdom says, “Perfect practice makes perfect.”

    Horowitz (pianist)

    • If I do not practice for a day, only I will know.
    • If I do not practice for three days, my mom will know.
    • If I do not practice for a week my audience will know.

    Brother Clementian

    • In our Matriculation class, Brother Clementian — former Brother Director who continued teaching — gave a weekly one-hour Mathematics test on Saturdays. We had to answer three questions. With the practice, most of us did well in the examination where we had to answer six questions in three hours.
    • It was an example of “Perfect practice makes perfect.”
    • He would hand out the answer papers on Monday. He would call those who did not do well to a special session after school.

    Thoughts on Practice

    • There are several practice sessions before an event (e.g. Entertainment at SPZP). There may be a Full Dress Rehearsal (final practice).
    • Giving a reasonably good “Prepared Speech” requires practice, but the practice should not involve blind repetition. One should try to remember the main points and the transitions.
    • Practice helps a good athlete to become a great athlete.
    • Dr. Richard Yu Khin (MEHS61, GBNF) wrote about the tough practice sessions given by Mr. Matsuda for ten selected Burmese swimmers.
      They had to swim five 50 yard sprints with one minute interval. The coach helped Tin Maung Ni shine in Burma and beyond.
    • TTC (Teachers’ Training College) had a practicing school.

    Dr. Thane Oke Kyaw Myint wrote :
    And why do qualified doctors keep on “practicing”?

  • Perfect

    Perfect

    by Hla Min

    Updated : May 2025

    Parami ပါရမီ

    • Pali word
    • Usually rendered as “Perfection“.

    There are Thirty Paramis:

    • Ten Paramis
    • Ten Upapa Paramis
      Higher grade Paramis
    • Ten Paramattha Paramis
      Highest grade Paramis

    Marks

    In our younger days, a score of 100 marks in an examination is considered perfect.

    Our High School Mathematics teacher Brother Clementian (former Brother Director who continued teaching till his final days) trained us to take an hourly weekly test comprising of three questions. So, most students were on track to complete the three hour Matriculation examination in two hours or less and gain Distinction in Mathematics.

    A score of 100 could not single out Mathematical geniuses like Dr. Min Oo (SPHS63, Second in Burma, Two doctorates in Mathematics from Germany) and gifted scholars and researchers like Dr. Khin Maung U (SPHS63, First in Burma, MD).

    Gymnastics

    1972 Munich Olympics saw all judges gave a young woman gymnast Olga Korbut (Soviet Belarusian) perfect Tens.

    1976 Montreal Olympics saw more perfect Tens for Nadia Comanche (Romanian).

    Some critics wonder how to judge superior performances in the future gymnastic competitions.

    Perfect shapes

    The ancient sages appreciate perfect shapes such as equilateral triangles, squares, regular polygons and the circle.

    Some astronomers felt that the planets should orbit in perfect cycles. To calculate the path of the planets, they hard to resort to the use of epicycles in their models.

    Kepler found out that the planets conserve their energy by following an elliptical path. The planets will need far more effort and energy to maintain the supposedly perfect circular paths.

    An ellipse has two foci, a major axis and a minor axis. It is a supposedly imperfect shape, but the limiting case approaches a circle with a center (for a single focus) and the lengths of the major axis and minor axis being equal.

    High cost for Perfection

    The search for perfection may have some negative effects in research.

    The 90/90 rule says that in the search for the perfect completion of a project, the last 10 percent could take up resources equal to that of the first 90 percent.

    Charles Babbage had excellent ideas for the Difference Engine and the Analytical Engine, but his search for perfection in the design and implementation left both projects incomplete.

    Imperfectly Perfect

    • I am imperfectly perfect.
    • Usually type straight for most of my posts without reference to notes and references.
    • Several readers pointed out the discrepancies and errors.
    • Glad to share my memories, experience and knowledge.
    • Some inquiring minds might transform my writings into high quality texts for posterity.