A measure for phenomenal

Max Anderson put out an inspirational book and Power Point once about the boiling point. I don't remember the name of either writing, but it was something about 1 degree of difference. The one degree between high heat and the boiling point is one degree. Then he went on to talk about what a difference it makes in one's life (for accomplishing goals) to ratchet up just one degree more of determination or passion or effort. Reaching the metaphoric boiling point is magical in accomplishing one's dreams.

Without the hoopla of the inspirational part, it is true that small increments are all around us that make a difference. The difference between two degrees of temperature from 99 to 101 is small. But, it makes a difference in whether the fever needs to be treated or not. If the normal or average temperature is 98.6 (or 99), then just a short two degrees of temperature make a difference.

The freezing point serves the same purpose as the boiling point in the original inspirational writing. One degree from 33 to 32 degrees turns water from a fluid to a solid. It makes a difference in the type of lifestyle preparations one needs to take, such as wrapping pipes for pump houses, covering or draining water from pools, procuring salt for bridges and roadways, planning trips, etc.

And in my line of work, just one standard deviation is the difference between honest, casual speech and contrived, rehearsed, dishonest speech. The range of type-token ratios between 0 and 1 is far less noticed than the range from 1-2. And the ratios above 2 are infrequent and highly significant when they occur. Small increments these numbers are, but increments that matter.

The list could contain many, many more examples of the difference small increments make. The point of the original boiling point illustration was to say that the extra, small amount of difference yields great results in life. It's true for the most part. Valedictorians and salutatorians are sometimes .001 apart in GPA. 1 degree of angle in a trajectory makes a difference between glancing off the atmosphere into deep space or piercing the shield for a safe landing. 1 inch of snow between one's foot and a crevasse on Mt. Everest determines life or death.

Mediocrity is unacceptable. Average is expected. What stands out I'm thankful for. But what is phenomenal is desired and immensely satisfying when achieved. And the difference between outstanding and phenomenal is probably just one infinitesimal unit apart.