Digital Humans: Thriving in an Online World

6Build Beautiful Things

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.

Confucius (c. 300 BCE/1979)

This chapter is about the value of paying attention to quality at every step in the process of making new things or bringing about change. We believe that quality is a mindset that is fundamental to successful thriving online. For digital humans, often working from different locations, this additional effort is necessary to build trust and results in better outcomes.

The Pursuit of Excellence

The ancient Greeks had a term arete. It means ‘excellence of any kind’. For the ancient Greeks, if something was arete it was an ideal represented by the most perfect form an object could take. Partly, it was meant to honour the gods, but it was mainly a celebration of all that we, as humans, can accomplish. Quality is very difficult to define, but it usually implies a coherence and integrity of thinking at every level. We feel that most obviously in music. It is clear when it isn't there; it is just as obvious when it is.

The ancient Greeks applied the term arete in many different contexts. The excellence of a building, the excellence of a horse going out to stud, the excellence of a person. It changes its meaning depending on what it describes – everything can be excellent in its own way.

Throughout history, leaders have commissioned the most influential artists and architects of the day to create inspiring monuments, beautiful paintings, and incredible sculptures. They knew that ...