...most scientific problems are far better understood by studying their history than their logic.

...most scientific problems are far better understood by studying their history than their logic.

A society that refuses to strive for superfluities is likely to end up lacking in necessities.

A society that refuses to strive for superfluities is likely to end up lacking in necessities.

To our real, naked selves there is not a thing on earth or in heaven worth dying for. It is read more

To our real, naked selves there is not a thing on earth or in heaven worth dying for. It is only when we see ourselves as actors in a staged (and therefore unreal) performance that death loses its frightfulness and finality and becomes an act of make-believe and a theatrical gesture. It is one of the main tasks of a real leader to mask the grim reality of dying and killing by evoking in his followers the illusion that they are participating in a grandiose spectacle, a solemn or lighthearted dramatic performance.

We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.

We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.

I'd rather be dead than cool.

I'd rather be dead than cool.

The Darwinian theory is in principle capable of explaining life. No other theory that has ever been suggested is in read more

The Darwinian theory is in principle capable of explaining life. No other theory that has ever been suggested is in principle capable of explaining life.

The unicorn is a very fierce beast with only one horn. To capture it a virgin maid is placed in read more

The unicorn is a very fierce beast with only one horn. To capture it a virgin maid is placed in the field. The unicorn approaches her, and resting in her lap, is so taken.

Cultures contain many cues and inducements to dissuade the individual from approaching ultimate limits, in much the same way that read more

Cultures contain many cues and inducements to dissuade the individual from approaching ultimate limits, in much the same way that a special warning strip of land around the edge of a baseball field lets a player know that he is about to run into a concrete wall when he is preoccupied with catching the ball. The wider that strip of land and the more sensitive the player is to the changing composition of the ground under his feet as he pursues the ball, the more effective the warning. Romanticizing or lionizing as "individualistic" those people who disregard social cues and inducements increases the danger of head-on collisions with inherent social limits. Decrying various forms of social disapproval is in effect narrowing the warning strip.

Widespread caffeine use explains a lot about the twentieth century.

Widespread caffeine use explains a lot about the twentieth century.