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The world needs fewer cynics and more skeptics.
The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.
To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.
To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
He may or may not have known it, but he was paraphrasing a fundamental rule of the Baha’i Faith.
I’m not sure the baha’i faith knew they were quoting Douglas Adams.
You can’t help people that don’t want help.
Goes for people who are going through mental/physical health problems or substance abuse issues. If they don’t want help you have to accept that and be there for them when they do.
I’ve always heard this as “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink”
I believe in this and it’s been tested by research. He who fucks nuns will later join the church.
This is my favourite lyric in any song ever.
It’s from Death or Glory by The Clash, for those who don’t know.
Yes, for those of us who manage somehow to cope with our mortality. The very meaninglessness of life forces man to create his own meaning. Children, of course, begin life with an untarnished sense of wonder, a capacity to experience total joy at something as simple as the greenness of a leaf; but as they grow older, the awareness of death and decay begins to impinge on their consciousness and subtly erode their joie de vivre, their idealism—and their assumption of immortality. As a child matures, he sees death and pain everywhere about him, and begins to lose faith in faith and in the ultimate goodness of man. But if he’s reasonably strong—and lucky—he can emerge from this twilight of the soul into a rebirth of life’s élan. Both because of and in spite of his awareness of the meaninglessness of life, he can forge a fresh sense of purpose and affirmation. He may not recapture the same pure sense of wonder he was born with, but he can shape something far more enduring and sustaining. The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death—however mutable man may be able to make them—our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfillment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.
–Stanley Kubrick, responding to the question “If life is so purposeless, do you feel that it’s worth living?” in a 1968 Playboy interview.
From “The Good Place”: If soulmates do exist, they’re not found. They’re made.
I believe Seth MacFarlane said something similar in “The Orville”.
A great reminder from two great shows.
I miss Orville
They are currently filming season four!
Are they going to make it funny again? Or will it be as exhausting as season 3?
Probably it’ll just get worse. I have yet to see a series that dug itself out of a hole it made past the pilot season.
I just started watching it, when should I stop so I still like it?
IMO, season 1 was the best, season 2 started going down hill, season 3 shouldn’t have been made or given another year to write a better script.
Right, I think I’ll go to the end of season 2 then. Thanks for saving me
I never even considered it a comedy tbh.
Exhausting? S3 was awesome and ST:TNG-like!
“People improve when they get external love and support. How can we hold it against them when they don’t?”
No matter where you go, there you are.
- Buckaroo Banzai
Two of quote/ statements from a book named “The Midnight Library” ;
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“If you aim to be something you are not, you will always fail. Aim to be you. Aim to look and act and think like you. Aim to be the truest version of you. Embrace that you-ness. Endorse it. Love it. Work hard at it. And don’t give a second thought when people mock it or ridicule it. Most gossip is envy in disguise”.
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“Never underestimate the big importance of small things”.
Regarding the former: I’m autistic and have a lot of experiences telling me that I should hide parts of myself from others to be acceptable. It doesn’t work. It’s better for one-off social interactions, and I should rein in my info-dumping in some scenarios, but it’s easier to make better friends if I just share myself with others.
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Experience is a lantern lightning only it’s carrier
It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness, that is life.
I find that this is particularly difficult for conservative, “pull yourself up from your bootstraps” types to understand. Some people think poor people, or those who have fallen into misfortune, were makers of their own tragedy. While it may sometimes be the case, I believe that more often than not, these people were just unlucky enough to born at the wrong place, at the wrong time, into the wrong family, neighbourhood, or country.
There are poor people inventing incredible things every day, but nobody around them has the power nor connections to make anything out of it. I watched a video of people who made a bike out of wood that could carry half a tonne, down an unpaved road at relatively high speeds, while metal bikes in developed countries have ratings for people under 150kg. But because those poor bike-makers were born where they were and had to toil in order to survive, day in and day out, there was never enough time for them for make their inventions a product to be produced and sold to the masses. Yet somewhere, there’s a conservative prick saying these people are lazy or aren’t smart.
First thought that came to me as well. Thank You Captain Picard…
This could have also been said by any speedrunner in a game with even a single RNG event.
I’m somebody who butts in too much and just in general speaks too much. I’ve always liked this “test” of sorts. I don’t always apply it but I try to!
Before saying anything (especially correcting someone or otherwise getting involved), the following questions need to be asked:
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Does it need to be said?
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Does it need to be said by me?
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Does it need to be said by me right now?
If more people on this planet would make these considerations we would all be so much better for it.
Trying to do my part, but I’ll be the first to admit I fuck this test up constantly lol
As long as we keep trying!
I’ve found that every time, the less I speak, the wiser I sound. And I don’t mean that in the “better to stay silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt” sense—though that’s true too.
I’ve gotten far more mileage and respect by letting others dominate conversations, then dropping one or two sharp questions or comments that show I’ve been paying close attention and actually understand what’s going on. That says more than any deep dive into minutiae ever could—especially when those tangents usually reveal more about what I don’t know than what I do.
I just started a new job, and the kickoff meeting was today. I put that strategy to use—barely said a word for 45 minutes. I probably looked like a dud hire. But by the end I think I came off as the smartest motherfucker in the room. I doubt I actually was—I’m probably the only person there without a four-year degree—but perception is a hell of a thing.
Having had to work with people, manage people, hire and fire people. I would say that having a higher education does not equate to a persons level of smartness, knowledge, or intelligence in any reasonable way.
Maybe, but I figure if every single one of them has a degree, the odds have to be in their favor that at least one of them is smarter than me. And if not, well I just proved how dumb I am by thinking that. QED.
That said, you’re right, too many places hold that degree in too high esteem. It wasn’t important for the first twenty to twenty-five years of my career, but now I’m finding it really puts a ceiling on how far I can go. I’m working under tech leads who have fifteen years less experience than I do. Have to see if I can get hired internal from my contract (which takes special waivers for non-degreed folks) and then advance internally.
It was so bad, when my last contract ended, I had two managers invite me to apply for openings with them and my resume was auto-rejected by their hiring system.
I call it The Subtle Art of Shutting the Fuck Up.
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apparently
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i really wish it didn’t
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no time like the present
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I come to ask myself these questions more and more. However, people thinking I’m dull and uninteresting is a downside… or is it?
Narcissist: Yes. Yes. And, Yes. LOUD NOISES ensue
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Almost every horrific thing that humans engage in stems from fear.
… and the rest, greed.
Greed stems from fear if you really stop to think about it.
“You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” Pirkei Avot (2:21)
While I’m not religious, this Jewish quote resonates with me. The “work” is never truly finished, we can all do more to make things better, both for ourselves and our community.
There’s this quote early in Good Omens: “It may help to understand human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people.”
It’s an awkward one these days, but it sounds Pratchett-esque enough to salvage.
“If it weren’t for my horse, I would’ve never spent that year in college.”
I don’t know what it means, but it has changed my life.
