Chapter 21. Purity

One question that comes up repeatedly is, “Is my team extreme?” People have concocted various charts and metrics to measure “extremeness”. When used as a tool for reflection, these make sense. As a scoring mechanism where a score of 10 is twice as good as 5, they are absurd. Expecting a binary or numerical answer to the question, “Is my team extreme?” makes no sense.

I like Tex-Mex food. If I see a restaurant that advertises Tex-Mex food, I kind of know what to expect: spicy food, lots of meat, and beans. If I get served (as my daughter once was in Zurich) a limp tortilla with tomato sauce, Swiss cheese, and a pickle; I’ll be disappointed. The question, “Is it Tex-Mex? Is it really Tex-Mex?”, is important because it sets my ...

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