Start your day at 4:00 AM. You’re up any way, why do you to need to stay in bed? Sit up and meditate. Say the word “thought” over an over again trying to visualize what it looks like. If that makes you sleepy, go back to bed.
“Ignorance has been our king. Since the death of empire, he sits unchallenged on the throne of Man. His dynasty is age-old. His right to rule is now considered legitimate. Past sages have affirmed it. They did nothing to unseat him.
“Tomorrow, a new prince shall rule. Men of understanding, men of science shall stand behind his throne, and the universe will come to know his might. His name is Truth. His empire shall encompass the Earth. And the mastery of Man over the Earth shall be renewed. A century from now, men will fly through the air in mechanical birds. Metal carriages will race along roads of man-made stone. There will be buildings of thirty stories, ships that go under the sea, machines to perform all works.
“And how will this come to pass?”
He paused and lowered his voice. “In the same way all change comes to pass, I fear. And I am sorry it is so. It will come to pass by violence and upheaval, by flame and by fury, for no change comes calmly over the world.”
A Canticle For Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (1959)
Imagine the horror with which darkness, rain, and wind, fill persons who have lost their way in the night; and who, consequently, have not the pleasant prospect of warm fires, dry cloaths, and other refreshments, to support their minds in struggling with the inclemencies of the weather.
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
No, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
Martin Luther King, Jr (1963)
It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem.
For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much – the wheel, New York, wars, and so on – whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time.
But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man – for precisely the same reasons.
So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish by Douglas Adams (1999)
Anomie Theory describes the effects of early industrialism and the resulting social division of labor with rising suicide rate. Accordingly, in times of social upheaval, “collective consciousness” is weakened and previous norms, moral convictions, and controls dwindle.
Durkheim
The triple point of pure water is at the temperature just above freezing (0.01° C) and at the pressure (0.006 atm) at which it can exist in equilibrium in all three states: liquid, solid, and gaseous.
Yes, water can freeze & boil at the same time!
The triple point is used to calibrate thermometers.
Wanted to avoid clambering up and down muddy hillsides, so this trail was ideal: completely paved path along the level shoreline. We doubled back at the 2-mile mark to get just enough exercise.