Brain can not only ponder the very stars that gave it birth but can also think about its own ability to think and wonder about its own ability to wonder.
V.S. Ramachandran
Mind is seen as inhering in the structure of myth, institutions & cultures. Culture consists of the sharing of mythic patterns. Culture is then mind writ large which shapes us unawares unless we develop the understanding to shape culture.
Charles Hampden-Turner
Descendant of the wild ass, the donkey is a domestic member of the horse family used for hauling goods since 4000 BC.
Donkeys are also related to zebras, although they’re often stockier, stronger and have much different personalities.
Female donkeys are called “jennies” or “jennets,” and a female ready to breed is known as a “broodmare.”
Ass is interchangeable with donkey, and “jackass” refers specifically to a male donkey. But a jackass is not a mule, and all burros are not jackasses.
The three pillars stood out clearly now, three pillars topped with two cross pieces in a way which looked stupefyingly familiar to Arthur’s addled brain.
“The three pillars,” thundered the man. “The Steel Pillar which represented the Strength and Power of the Galaxy!”
Searchlights seared out and danced crazy dances up and down the pillar on the left which was, clearly, made of steel or something very like it. The music thumped and bellowed.
“The Perspex Pillar,” announced the man, “representing the forces of Science and Reason in the Galaxy!”
Other searchlights played exotically up and down the righthand, transparent pillar creating dazzling patterns within it and a sudden inexplicable craving for ice-cream in the stomach of Arthur Dent.
“And,” the thunderous voice continued, “the Wooden Pillar, representing…” and here his voice became just very slightly hoarse with wonderful sentiments, “the forces of Nature and Spirituality.”
The lights picked out the central pillar. The music moved bravely up into the realms of complete unspeakability.
“Between them supporting,” the voice rolled on, approaching its climax, “the Golden Bail of Prosperity and the Silver Bail of Peace!“
The whole structure was now flooded with dazzling lights, and the music had now, fortunately, gone far beyond the limits of the discernible. At the top of the three pillars the two brilliantly gleaming bails sat and dazzled. There seemed to be girls sitting on top of them, or maybe they were meant to be angels. Angels are usually represented as wearing more than that, though.
LIFE, THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING, Chapter 8, by Douglas Adams
A winning attitude involves
often linked to success in work and social life.
-Grok
I shall become a conscientious academic. Bless you Grok. -gg
Man must part company with the inferior & superficial. The important thing is to remain firm.
Accomplish one’s task – Courage, no matter what happens.
The I Ching or Book of Changes
The world of the materialist is a “bubble world”. Its inhabitants live inside a consumer-driven, status-obsessed bubble. Possession is key. Those who can see beyond the walls of the bubble are deemed mad & deluded. A gimpse of the truth will burst the fragile walls.
–The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith
Life is an experiment: we’re all testing hypotheses, learning from outcomes, and iterating as we go. Every choice is a variable, every experience a data point.
–Grok
Wedjat – Eye of Horus
Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few; and these few precious days I’ll spend with you.
Maxwell Anderson
The shadow of an eagle that had set forth from those high and craggy fastnesses crossed the line of riders below and they looked up to mark it where it rode in that brittle blue and faultless void.
Blood Meridian (1985) by Cormac McCarthy