I’ve had many intellectual debates during college, many of which had a definitive resolution. However, one lingering debate that saw no end was the battle of “Great vs Best.” My blockmate and I went at it for hours, then for days, then months passed but there was still no noticeable progress, until we both fell out of touch.
I took the “Great” side, he took “Best,” while the other people who listened from the sidelines argued that the two terms were the same. The lack of progress stemmed from our own misunderstanding about the distinction of the two — and the fact that I couldn’t get my point across effectively.
Well — after all these years — I finally figured it out.
First off, the others were wrong — there was a distinction. “Greatest” equates to being the best, but just being “Great” doesn’t imply the same — the superlative suffix makes a ton of difference. Maybe people just got sick of hearing us debate about the same thing to no end, that’s why they sought to make the argument negligible.
Secondly, we were arguing about the wrong thing. The debate was subjective at best, we just didn’t have a clear definition of what we were talking about. Speaking objectively, I conceded that being “the best” wins it because it puts one at the pinnacle, but that wasn’t what I was arguing about. I couldn’t define it back then, I just knew that I was fighting for an ideal, but I just couldn’t articulate it.
Then I figured it out — it’s all about my stand against one’s sense of self. Being “the best” implies that you set yourself above everyone or everything else. One cannot share the top spot with everyone — it defeats the purpose. However, being “great” speaks to one’s consistency in maintaining a level above the standard. One can be “great” alongside everyone else without sacrificing a sense of fulfillment. That’s what my whole point was — such a relief to get it out of my chest!
I write this not in the spirit of one-upmanship, but as a symbolic tying up of loose ends. People who bared witness to our exchange had it all wrong — we weren’t locked in an argument at all. At face value, we were merely passing time in between Electronic Circuit Design and Statistics, but going deeper, we were enriching ourselves. There was no competition whatsoever, we were just trying to improve ourselves together.
If everyone that played competitive sports did it for fun or for the improvement of everyone involved, wouldn’t you agree that it would be the best thing for everybody? If everyone debated for the sake of arriving at the best possible resolution and not just so that one can argue that his side is the best, wouldn’t you agree that it would make the whole world better? What if instead of trying to be the best, everyone try to be great together with everyone else? I don’t know about you, but I think that would be the best possible route to take.
To my blockmate, Emil, I hope this post reaches you wherever you may be. I just want to tell you that you are one of the most imaginative thinkers that I have come across, and it has been a pleasure learning with you.
Photo credits:
Crowd Of People by Petr Kratochvil (http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=23150)