What’s wrong with the best?

“The best education”, “The best movie”, “The best way to change the world”…

“The best education”, “The best movie”, “The best blog”, “The best way to change the world”…

The problem with “the best” narrative is that it assumes one solution for every problem. By doing so, it disregards the possibility of differences.

Different plants need different watering. Different moods call for different movies. And different people fit in different education.

“The problem with our education is not the system, it’s that it only has 1 system.” - David Perell

Maybe what the students need is lecturing, maybe it’s discussion-based, maybe it’s something hands-on, or maybe it’s independent study. It all depends.

So the next time someone tells you: “This is the best education/ book/ city…”, remember to ask: “Best for who?”

Without answering this question first, no “best” list will have any meaning.

As an educator, what I always try to do is be explicit about “Who would be a good fit for my teaching?”

For Writing on The Net, the best fits are people who are serious about blogging and growing an audience. Those who are ready to join an intensive, hands-on 5-week writing experience.

For @MỞ, the best fits are passionate and curious people who believe that learning is more fun when you do it with like-minded others. Those who believe that learning is social and geographically limitless.

With 7 billion people on this planet, there are usually no “best solution” to any problem for everyone. What we should aim for is “the most suitable” for “a very specific group of people” instead.