Principles

I had a discussion with a friend the other day about the usefulness of guiding principles. Months prior we had agreed that a common phrase, “the cream always rises to the top,” is a bad principle because it teaches the wrong lesson. The “Cream Rises” principle is bad because it disincentives hard work and rationalizes failure. Sure, it might have some value, but in most situations, it is used as a backward-looking tool of justification that people use to comfort themselves in the face of disappointment. What we learn from this is that for a principle to be useful it needs to teach lessons that promote progress. Principles that teach you how to work harder, work smarter, or how to deal with failure in a constructive way might all be considered good principles.

Then, in our conversation the other day, we were faced with a new question: Does a principle need to be universally true to be considered valuable? This came up after I offered some advice: “less is more.” Ooh, spicy. Of course, this isn’t always true; sometimes more is more. But as any good editor knows, it is often harder to trim the fat than to add the meat. So when something needs to be pared down, it is fair to say that the “less is more” principle is useful. The problem is with all the times it’s not.  Does the fact that it isn’t always true make it a bad principle?

My counterpart argued that in the hierarchy of principles, universal ones are best because there is no room for confusion or misuse. “Thou Shalt Not Steal” is a great principle because there should really be no scenario where that does not apply. Fair enough. The next piece of the argument said that if a principle is not universal, it should at least have a guiding framework that helps the user know when and how to use it. “Thou Shalt Not Kill,” except in self-defense, defense of others and when carrying out capital punishment. The problem is, even the guidelines are murky; not everyone agrees with killing in defense of others, let alone the death penalty. So if the principle isn’t universal and the guidelines aren’t either, can the principle still be considered good? What if there aren’t even any guidelines?

Let’s go back to “less is more.” There are no universal guidelines that help us know when to use this. Editors around the world don’t have a standardized word-count that says if you go over this number, you need to start trimming. That just wouldn’t be possible; it’s way too subjective and situational. But if you’re like me, you still think it’s a helpful principle. People so often tend to overdo it that in so many situations it can be helpful to remember that being clear and concise is a great way to communicate. Sure, there may be times where you see value in being verbose, but there’s a reason “less is more” is such a common phrase in the editing room.

Learning how to properly use a guiding principle all comes down to practice. You can’t learn how to play basketball or the guitar by reading a book. You need to get out on the court or pick up the instrument and play. The ground rules and the musical theory are helpful frameworks for when you’re there, but the real learning comes from the situational analysis and incremental improvement gained from actually doing it. So to, you can’t learn how to properly use guiding principles by reading a book. Even if they have guidelines. You need to learn for yourself which lessons are true and how you can use them to improve your life. Practice doesn’t make perfect, but it does make you better. Less isn’t always more but experience can help you know when it is. Get out there and try it.