In a world increasingly affected by artificial intelligence, achievement culture, and impossible standards, the idea of perfection sometimes feels like the ultimate goal. However, is perfection actually part of the problem? Inspired by Scythe by Neal Shusterman, this blog explores how humanity’s pursuit of flawlessness can lead to corruption, burnout, and disappointment.
Why Perfection Is Not the Answer
People have always searched for ways to build a better world, whether that be through religion, self-improvement, or technology. But both literature and real life keep suggesting the same uncomfortable truth: perhaps perfection should not actually be the goal. Scythe by Neal Shusterman didn’t just change how we think about AI, it made us question why we chase perfection in the first place.
The novel is set hundreds of years in the future. Natural death has been eliminated, governments are gone, and an advanced AI called the Thunderhead runs society. Interestingly, the Thunderhead isn’t the villain. It’s fair, rational, and genuinely focused on what’s best for people. The real threat comes from humans. Since no one dies naturally anymore, a group called Scythes manages population control, and it’s people’s corruption, not AI, that causes problems.
Before reading Scythe, we had a pretty negative view of AI. We assumed it would mostly cause harm. However, in the novel the Thunderhead itself isn’t dangerous: it doesn’t have an ego, hidden motives, or anything to gain. The problems come from people. That’s not so different from what we see now: most of the damage AI causes today, such as misinformation, cheating, and manipulation, is caused by how people choose to use it, not by the technology itself.
Matthew 5:48 says, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” A lot of people read that as a requirement to remove every flaw. But in practice, chasing that kind of perfection leads to exhaustion. You set an impossible standard, don’t achieve it, feel like a failure, and repeat. Somewhere, you lose track of what you were actually trying to become.
That’s why we think discipline matters more than perfection. Discipline means showing up and improving bit by bit, even after a setback. It doesn’t mean that you never fail, just that you keep going. That felt like the real message behind Scythe too. The problem was never the Thunderhead. It was people who couldn’t handle power responsibly. And the answer wasn’t a perfect society, it was accountability.
Technology and personal growth aren’t so different in that way. AI can be genuinely useful if people treat it seriously and use it honestly. And people can genuinely grow if they stop expecting themselves to be flawless. Neither process is about becoming perfect. It’s about learning to manage failure, power, and responsibility without letting them ruin you.
Amy Adams is currently a 10th Grade student at Boca Raton High School in Florida. She has a love of writing and reading while enjoying all genres of literature. As a freshman she started her academic career with being halfway done earning her Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) Diploma.
Ronald Virgil is a Senior at Boca Raton High School in Florida and will be attending Florida International University to study Finance. A love of numbers does not overshadow his love of the written word. Ronald’s superpower is his calm and confident demeanor. This comes across in his writing and his philosophical take on life.
National English Honor Society
The National English Honor Society (NEHS), founded and sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta, is the only international organization exclusively for secondary students and faculty who, in the field of English, merit special note for past and current accomplishments. Individual secondary schools are invited to petition for a local chapter, through which individuals may be inducted into Society membership. Immediate benefits of affiliation include academic recognition, scholarship and award eligibility, and opportunities for networking with others who share enthusiasm for, and accomplishment in, the language arts.
America’s first honor society was founded in 1776, but high school students didn’t have access to such organizations for another 150 years. Since then, high school honor societies have been developed in leadership, drama, journalism, French, Spanish, mathematics, the sciences, and in various other fields, but not in English. In 2005, National English Honor Society launched and has been growing steadily since, becoming one of the largest academic societies for secondary schools.
As Joyce Carol Oates writes, “This is the time for which we have been waiting.” Or perhaps it was Shakespeare: “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer . . .” we celebrate English studies through NEHS.
National English Honor Society accepts submissions to our blog, NEHS Museletter, from all membership categories (students, Advisors, and alumni). If you are interested in submitting a blog, please read the Suggested Guidelines on our website. Email any questions and all submissions to: submit@nehsmuseletter.us.
