Detours increase local knowledge.
Quote of the Week 18 “ Detours increase local knowledge. ” ― Kurt Tucholsky As seen in Dessau:
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The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer.
Quote of the Week 17 “ The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer.” ― Ward Cunningham ( Cunningham's Law )
He who lives by the crystal ball will eat shattered glass.
Quote of the Week 16 “ He who lives by the crystal ball will eat shattered glass.” ― Ray Dalio A variation of: “ He who lives by the crystal ball soon learns to eat ground glass .” ― Edgar Fiedler Triggered by the promotion for Dalio 's new book " How Countries Go Broke ― The Big Cycle ". Here's what X/Grok comments: Who Said It? The quote " He who lives by the crystal ball will eat shattered glass " is most commonly attributed to Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, a prominent hedge fund. However, a similar version, " He who lives by the crystal ball soon learns to eat ground glass ," is attributed to economist Edgar R. Fiedler. The Dalio version is more widely circulated in modern contexts, particularly in finance and investing circles. When and in Which Context? The exact origin date of Dalio’s quote is unclear, as it appears in various sources without a definitive first publication. It gained prominence through Dalio’s public w...
Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.
Quote of the Week 15 “ Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.” ― Henri Poincaré Triggered by the use of a variation of the quote by Robert Fuchs on LinkedIn. As opposed to poetry : “ Poetry is the art of giving different names to the same thing.” “L a Mathématique est l’art de donner le même nom à des choses différentes. ” ― Henri Poincaré In 1908, the Fourth International Congress of Mathematicians was held in Rome. During the Congress, the mathematician Jean-Gaston Darboux presented an address written by Henri Poincaré entitled “L’avenir des mathématiques,” and Poincaré included the paper as a chapter in his book Science et Méthode. An authorized English translation by George Bruce Halsted appeared as the chapter “The Future of Mathematics” in The Foundations of Science, first published in 1913. ... Out of context, it is possible to misinterpret “giving the same name to different things” as saying that words in mathematics are us...
There are two different types of people in the world, those who want to know, and those who want to believe.
Quote of the Week 14 “ There are two different types of people in the world, those who want to know, and those who want to believe.” ― Attributed to Friedrich Nietzsche
Art is anything you can get away with.
Quote of the Week 13 “ Art is anything you can get away with.” ― Marshall McLuhan , “ The Medium is the Massage ” Triggered by the reference to the quote ― which is sometimes misattributed to Andy Warhol ― in a recent tweet : Art is anything you can get away with Did social theorist Marshall McLuhan say this? See next message for a link to the answer pic.twitter.com/LX4AkgMMPY — Quote Investigator® (@QuoteResearch) March 15, 2025
Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought.
Quote of the Week 12 “ Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought.” ― Henri Bergson “ Man muss wie ein denkender Mensch handeln und wie ein handelnder Mensch denken. ” “ Il faut agir en homme de pensée et penser en homme d'action. ” ― Henri Bergson , Message au Congrès Descartes , IXe Congrès international de philosophie (1937) Triggered by further reflection on last week's quote " Thought is the enemy of flow " and the related idea that " Thought kills action ". " For Bergson, the action is the lowest sphere of the spirit, where it touches the physical mechanism, whereas it reaches its climax in the mere speculative freedom of the dream. " From X/Grok3: The popular English version of Henri Bergson's quote, "Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought," reverses the sequence compared to the original French, "Il faut agir en homme de pensée et penser en homme d'action" (directly translated as ...
Thought is the enemy of flow.
Quote of the Week 11 “ Thought is the enemy of flow.” ― Vinnie Colaiuta Triggered by Rick Beato mentioning Vinnie's mantra in another of his videos (@ 7:24 mins) featuring Keith Jarrett : P.S. Check out Keith Jarrett playing The Blues . Related: Created with Flux.1 The phrase "Thought kills action" is commonly attributed to Friedrich Nietzsche, though his original wording is "Knowledge kills action; action requires the veils of illusion." This idea appears in his work " The Birth of Tragedy ," where he suggests that deep knowledge or reflection can hinder decisive action, as action often relies on certain illusions or a lack of complete understanding.
Stupidity is causing harm to others without benefiting oneself.
Quote of the Week 10 “ Stupidity is causing harm to others without benefiting oneself, even potentially incurring losses in the process.” ― Carlo M. Cipolla (3rd Law of Human Stupidity) Triggered by a reference to the law by Prof. Gunter Dueck in a recent interview (@22:27 mins): “ Dummheit ist die Attitüde, anderen zu schaden, ohne sich selbst zu nutzen.” This is the essence of stupidity : actions that are not merely self-destructive but harm others irrationally. The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity is an essay by Italian economist Carlo M. Cipolla, originally published in 1976. It humorously yet incisively outlines five "laws" that describe human stupidity and its impact on society. Here's a summary (created by X/Grok3): Law 1: Always and inevitably, everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation. Stupidity is more widespread than people assume, and it catches us off guard because we tend to overestimate rational behavior. Law 2: The probabi...