Of all the false dichotomies out there, this one tends to get my goat the most; it’s time for another edition of “Johnny dispels folksy truisms!”
Yes, obviously we all want “good” stuff – good events, good objects, good people. But more often than you realize, quantity is the measure of quality!
Here’s a too-obvious example, but I’ll use it to make a larger point: Would you rather have a crisp, perfect one-dollar bill, or ten ratty old ones? For some things – like money – the measure of quantity is the only measure. All else equal, more money is usually better than less money, so quantity and quality are directly correlated.
Okay, now let’s look at some less obvious examples. Would you rather have a wonderful steak dinner or twenty peanut butter sandwiches? Most people might instinctively say they’d rather have the fancy dinner, but we might be measuring different things. The “quality” of deliciousness and satisfaction might be better on the steak, but what about the “quality” of not starving to death? If you’re on a strict food budget, having more food for the price is definitely the better option. That doesn’t mean you’re sacrificing “quality” – it means you’re making a better choice.
And therein lies the falsehood of the truism. Things have costs – in time, money, effort, juice. But things also serve more than one purpose, so you can’t always draw a direct line of comparison and say “This thing is higher quality than that thing.” I’d rather have ten mid-range pickup trucks than one sports car, given the same price. I can use the pickup trucks to make money! But maybe it’s more fun to drive the sports car – so what aspect am I going for? Fun or utility? The two options are each “higher quality” for a given quality.
There is no such thing as universal “quality.” There are qualities, aspects of things, and they line up with your wants and needs. The choices that best match your own desires are the best choices, regardless of some arbitrary measure like “few & expensive” versus “many & cheap.”
Decide what feature or aspect you want to maximize as it relates to your life, and then pick the option that does that. That’s the quality choice.
The Opportunity Machine 