The Lord of Global Standards: The Twin Towers

(Found this here)

‘Rules or Principles, which are better? Do I want Principles or Rules? If we do away with the Lord of the Rules, we only need to
worry about Principles. If we do away with the Lord of the Principles, we only need to worry about Rules.’
‘Master,’ he said ruefully, ‘what is the difference between Rules and Principles?’
‘It is quite simple. A principle will tell you generally what is the right thing to do and then you must judge what to do in specific
circumstances. A rule will tell you what to do in specific circumstances.’
‘I see,’ beamed Gollum, ‘principles are like a compass which show you the direction and rules are like maps which show you exactly how to get there.’

After a few moments of reflection, he added, ‘I prefer maps.’
‘It is not like that, Gollum. Maps can be wrong or if you are in uncharted territory or if you have no map, you will need a compass.
Also, you cannot make precise maps for every part of Middle Earth.

R. Hussey & A. Ong (Financial Reporting, Regulation & Governance, 2005)