Quality vs Quantity

I'm sure all of you have heard of the phrase "quality over quantity" being used when someone is trying to make excuses for their slow (and unproductive) work. I'm sure many of you have used the very same excuse before as well. I am sure, at least, that I myself am guilty of this; afterall, that was the "philosophy" I comforted myself with when I become too lazy to blog more than once a month (or longer, as the recent delays in posting shows) from since sometime last year.

Today, I'm going to talk about this cliche, and how, despite current technological advances, it is still relevant to our lives in this day and age.

By the way, as a slight digression, I want to re-emphasize the fact that, bastard and hypocrite though I am, I am not a liar. And thus, my posts, which have decreased in quantity, have INDEED, increased in quality, as is apparent when you read anyway. (ahem)

So, let us begin. Shall we agree on the basic premise of the phrase, "quality over quantity" first? The phrase states that the two mentioned subjects are in conflict with one another. For example, "Instead of quantity, let us have quality" is what it says. Therefore, by extension, the two subjects, "quantity" and "quality" can be said to be opposing in nature. Similar, maybe, to concepts like "good" and "evil", or "light" and "darkness".

Now, is this premise true?

Well, it certainly is true that the rationale behind the creation of that phrase is rooted in a natural conflict between the two subjects. As humans, we all know that you can't really create something that is well-done (ie. high in quality) if you rush it. Therefore, when you try to make more of something in a shorter amount of time (ie. high in quantity) you compromise on the quality. A rushed drawing cannot compare with a painting in which the artist has put alot of effort and time into; a hastily put-together wooden model will fall apart faster than one where the glue was applied carefully and allowed to dry properly; a piece of homework will be more prone to "careless" errors if it was rushed through in the middle of the night rather than done slowly through the weekend.

Of course, for each of the examples I've stated, there are exceptions. A naturally careless person (read: the stupid me) might make as many mistakes while doing his homework through the weekend as if he'd done it in five minutes' time; a less creative artist (read: the totally artistically inept me) might churn out a work that is still average, despite spending more time on it than a talented artist; and wooden models can be broken easily by a clumsy person (read: me) whether or not it was well-made.

Quality, however, isn't just physical. There is still the spiritual aspect to it; the effort, the hard work, the sweat and blood of the crafter. I'm sure you understand the feelings a mother will feel upon receipt of a hand-made, but horribly ugly birthday card from a three-year-old. Its hardly the "epitome of quality", but still, there is something to it that makes it all that much more important. The spiritual value we, as humans, imbue upon the things around us, even inanimate things, can overcome the physical inferiorities of the said things.

In general, I think it is safe to agree that something which was done in a hurry, with little thought and effort put into it, is of a lower quality, both physically and spiritually speaking.

And therein lies the original rationale which led to the phrase "quality over quantity", where humans treasure the quality of a well made item, rather than the quantity of the item itself.

We still haven't proved that quality and quantity are polar opposites, though. What is to say that quality and quantity cannot both exist at the same time? Afterall, with technology, that is now much more possible than ever, isn't it? Think about it: the original limitation where quality would be compromised by quantity was a human limit. A talented wood-crafter can make hundreds, maybe thousands, of well-done, much treasured, priceless wooden toys in his lifetime. But take the same technics, take the same secrets, take the same means and materials, and program it into a machine; then have ten of those machines mass-produce those toys. Hundreds of thousands, even millions of toys of the same quality can be churned out in the space of a year.

Machines, afterall, don't have to waste twenty-odd years learning to be an "adult", machines, afterall, can be fixed when broken, machines, afterall, don't need to eat, or shit, or be subject to temper tantrums and pre/post-menstrual syndromes; machines won't be affected by the thousands of minituae that can delay human production. And machines can re-produce whatever is programmed into them with near perfect replication. Quantity, thus, can be acheived with no compromise to quality.

Can we thus say, then, that quality and quantity can, in fact exist at the same time?

No. Quality and quantity cannot exist at the same time. Even after all those examples I stated of technology transcending the human limitations, the fact remains that quality and quantity cannot exist at the same time. This is no longer an issue of human weaknesses; but rather, is tied into the concept of the words "quality" and "quantity". Quantity implies a large number, numerous. Quality implies a certain status that is above others, something unique, or superior. Thus, the two concepts come into direct, natural conflict. How can you have something that is superior, yet numerous at the same time? You cannot. The moment you mass-produce a high-quality product, it ceases to become of a high-quality, but instead, becomes... normal. It is no longer something people would "wow" and "ooh" over; there will be no musing over its "craftsmanship", because there is no craftsmanship to speak of. And in the midst of all that normalcy, a new "quality" will emerge as one that is superior to the one that has been mass-produced.

Fifty years ago, a black-and-white movie was considered high-quality. Now, special effects are being used in such huge quantities that the quality of movies has taken on the form of a good plotline instead of how real the movie looks. When the qualities of the past era is overcome by the quantities of technolgical advances, new qualities emerge that take over that niche. Forevermore, quality will be something that is rare and not easily found; whereas the great mass that is normalcy and quantity will forever be average and dull and boring. That is how the world is.

Are you unique? Or are you, like the boy from half a world away and who is also reading this blog at this instant, only average and... normal? What are the "qualities" that you have..? Courage? Empathy? Think about how many others have these so called "qualities" of yours, and then tell me again, whether you are of a high quality, or simply part of a large quantity.

And so, we've come full circle. There is no denying that my posts are of a higher quality now, since, afterall, without quantity, there must be quality... right?

Hee. Mission accomplished.

Looking to the future~
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