I understand that particular battle quite well.
My worst-case outcome is when so much time is spent chasing perfection, that all the energy and vigour leaks out of the project, and it eventually dies a slow and lingering death.
-Gnobuddy
We have all been told this many times, usually by well-meaning parents, relatives, teachers, pillars of industry, et cetera.
So it came as a shock to me when I found out a few years ago that mental-health professionals classify perfectionism as a depressive disorder. In other words, perfectionism is likely to make you unhappy and depressed, not satisfied and respected.
We are speaking of the "It's never good enough!" mindset here. If it's never good enough, you can never be happy with it, right?
There is a slightly technical (but readable by us lay people) article about this here: The impact of perfectionism on anxiety and depression.
And a very much warmer and more personal look here: The Vicious Cycle of Perfectionism and Depression - creatingmaryshome.com
At the opposite end of the spectrum from perfectionism, I think we all understand that doing things sloppily and without any emotional engagement does not bring happiness.
If you instead put some effort into something, do a good job, and stop there, you are likely to feel happy about it.
But if you take that further - put a great deal of time and effort into something, make it good, but are still never satisfied - then you are dealing with painful, depressive, perfectionism.
I think AVtech23 is exactly right - the tricky part is finding the dividing line between those last two states of mind!
-Gnobuddy
Does anyone have any experience with the 6N6C (6P6S)? I'm using some of those that are black, and came in the yellow boxes.
My readings are:
Plate Voltage 299v
Cathode resistor 470ohm, voltage drop 18v
Cathode current = 18 / 470 = 36mA
Screen Voltage = 299 - 18 = 281
Dissipation = 281 * 0.038 = ~11w
Should I worry about the screen voltage? The data that I could find on these tubes says screen voltage should be 250v nominal, 310v absolute.
Does that voltage need to be dropped or just c'est la vie?
My readings are:
Plate Voltage 299v
Cathode resistor 470ohm, voltage drop 18v
Cathode current = 18 / 470 = 36mA
Screen Voltage = 299 - 18 = 281
Dissipation = 281 * 0.038 = ~11w
Should I worry about the screen voltage? The data that I could find on these tubes says screen voltage should be 250v nominal, 310v absolute.
Does that voltage need to be dropped or just c'est la vie?
"The journey is the reward"
Yes I think perfectionism is related to some kind of depression and autism as well. Personnaly I can say that I reached some of my goals - which gave some satisfaction and happiness - but only for a short time. Next goal to come...
You may call this a kind of madness as well - in other words
there is always a dark side in everything.
What a fascinating thread! This is what I read this forum for. Excellent step by step troubleshooting and life lessons also. I can definitely relate to being an engineer and fussing over perfection. I was a tech for many years before coming an engineer and a life of fixing problems. I can't relax when I know something is broken or wrong and I'm the type that will always try to fix everything myself. That means cars, electrical, plumbing, house,etc. Great thread.
Good to know that it's not just me that does this!
I see something broken and it's like an itch that has to be scratched!
Sorry, bit vague. These are the ones I meant.
Attachments
IMO, Avtech23's attitude has a lot to do with the way the thread has gone. He seems to be curious, welcoming, and unafraid - and that has encouraged the same sort of attitudes from everyone else on the thread.
It's a really nice change from some other threads, where a person asks for help, then rudely criticizes and puts down every helpful response, until the entire thread turns vicious or sullen.
-Gnobuddy
We have all been told this many times, usually by well-meaning parents, relatives, teachers, pillars of industry, et cetera.
So it came as a shock to me when I found out a few years ago that mental-health professionals classify perfectionism as a depressive disorder. In other words, perfectionism is likely to make you unhappy and depressed, not satisfied and respected.
We are speaking of the "It's never good enough!" mindset here. If it's never good enough, you can never be happy with it, right?
There is a slightly technical (but readable by us lay people) article about this here: The impact of perfectionism on anxiety and depression.
And a very much warmer and more personal look here: The Vicious Cycle of Perfectionism and Depression - creatingmaryshome.com
At the opposite end of the spectrum from perfectionism, I think we all understand that doing things sloppily and without any emotional engagement does not bring happiness.
If you instead put some effort into something, do a good job, and stop there, you are likely to feel happy about it.
But if you take that further - put a great deal of time and effort into something, make it good, but are still never satisfied - then you are dealing with painful, depressive, perfectionism.
I think AVtech23 is exactly right - the tricky part is finding the dividing line between those last two states of mind!
-Gnobuddy
A clever and well considered view.
Yes, also I knew engineers who did not know when it was enough. I knew engineers as well who would quit a task as "finished" as soon as they believed they could get away with it. I appreciated the first type, probably frustrated, engineers for their devotion and insight. Among colleague engineers, the enthusiastic ones gained more points.
Thanks for the links and intelligent words.
Unfortunately we don't teach engineers how to work out which behaviour is appropriate for a given set of circumstances.
I wrote umpteenthousandveryboringwords on this and related topics but, for anyone interested, some better reading is listed below.
Trevelyan, J.P., 2011, October. Are we accidentally misleading students about engineering practice. In Proceedings of Research in Engineering Education Symposium. (or pretty much all his and related work about that time)
McCarthy, J., 1995. Dynamics of software development. Microsoft Press.
Aarikka-Stenroos, L., and Jaakkola, E., 2012. Value co-creation in knowledge intensive business services: A dyadic perspective on the joint problem solving process. Industrial Marketing Management, 41 (1), 15-26.
Those are Russian 6V6 equivalents, made at the Reflektor plant. Never heard of serious issues with them.
Best regards!
Thanks for your kind words.
I always wonder why people ask for help but then get the sh*ts with everyone's responses, even when they are trying to be helpful. I can understand when someone is being negative or unhelpful towards them, but not when people are genuinely taking their time to help them. And in the case of the former, why they can't ignore those negative people.
Maybe they have their preconceptions and don't want to believe in alternatives?
Life's too short for that, I prefer to keep an open mind.
It's been 345 days since I embarked on this journey of discovering Diy Audio and the learning curve is steep, even coming from an engineering background. I try to pass back any knowledge that I've gained in that time to those who are at the start of their journey or seeking help with a poorly amp, with fresh memories of being in their position not so long ago.
Thanks Kay.
I don't like pushing components outside of their datasheet limits unless I know what I'm doing, but happy to rely on other's experience!
Thanks for the recommendations.
I remember reading "The Making of an Expert Engineer" by Trevelyan but felt his preoccupation with "spending other people's money" to be a bit immature to be honest, but I'll have a go at his other works.
I'd be interested in your work too if you are able to share any? It's always good to read from multiple perspectives.
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