> But lately, over the past 5 or 10 years, it seems to me that perfection in UI is just as arbitrary and mutable as people's tastes and preferences.
No. Perfection exists, but it's not how something works or looks. Perfection is stability. A bad solution that you know inside and out is preferable to a "better" solution that you have to spend time to think about every time you use it.
Yes, it is. UI is not not about stable form, alone.
> Otherwise any old solution that does not change would be good.
UI design is nuanced, regardless of the large number of people who dismiss it as borderline irrelevant. eg The most common used elements should be the easiest to recognize and access. Culture driving change is the most useful, while random association is less useful and statistically worse for user experience.
Apple has taken a great leap in misinterpreting that if the most common functions benefit from iconography, there must be a benefit the icons convey, as opposed to the other way around. It's disturbing.
No. Perfection exists, but it's not how something works or looks. Perfection is stability. A bad solution that you know inside and out is preferable to a "better" solution that you have to spend time to think about every time you use it.