The notion of “quality” is elusive, often subjective—difficult to define. It conjures connections to usefulness, excellence and beauty.
In his partially autobiographical novel “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” Robert M. Pirsig intimately explores the definition of quality, at one point suggesting that “quality is a direct experience”—that is, we must personally experience quality in order to fully grasp its meaning. It exists independently of intellectual perceptions. The proof is in the pudding.