TL;DR: The Floor and the Roof/Ceiling is a metaphor I like to use that provides a framework for looking at technological advancement, progress and opportunities. It distinguishes between situations where the lowest/minimum standard is important (the floor) and cases when we are aiming for maximising the peak of some aspect (the ceiling).

Progress is not equal and life isn’t fair, but civilization aims to make it so. We want to raise the floor - make it so that everyone is standing that much higher up, hopefully protected from the flood. Of course, the floor isn’t perfect, nor uniform.

We also have an innate human need to push beyond limits, innovate and create our way into a better world. Most people can relate to trying to be “the best”, we even create artificially constrained situations (in sports) so that differently abled people (say, amateurs and professionals) can strive to raise the roof.