The New York Times has an article today about the risks of perfectionism. I'm glad to know my lack of compulsiveness about the dust bunnies under the bed at home is a sign of mental health! Interestingly, when the article first went up, it was less than perfectly edited, there was an extra period:"Ms. Provost said those in her program at U.C. Davis often displayed symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder — another risk for perfectionists. They couldn’t bear a messy desk.. They found it nearly impossible to leave a job half-done, to do the next day. Some put in ludicrously long hours redoing tasks, chasing an ideal only they could see."
As this was an article that could be commented on (a new feature at the Times), I followed the link to do so (the first - a perfectly blank page, how delightful!), and wondering if the flaw was deliberate - a subtle joke.
Apparently not, not only has the article been corrected, but my comment was scrubbed! The stated policy is: Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ. Now admittedly, the FAQs note that "To avoid distracting other readers, we won't publish comments that suggest a correction." But I would argue given the subject of this article, and that it speaks to teaching perfectionists how to "slack off" productively, it was very much to the point!
Snicker... interesting!
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