The Marginalian
The Marginalian

Reads tagged with “philosophy”

Christopher Hitchens on Mortality
Christopher Hitchens on Mortality

“To the dumb question ‘Why me?’ the cosmos barely bothers to return the reply: Why not?”

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Robert Sapolsky on Science and Wonder
Robert Sapolsky on Science and Wonder

“The purpose of science is not to cure us of our sense of mystery and wonder, but to constantly reinvent and reinvigorate it.”

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John Updike on the Universe and Why There is Something Rather Than Nothing
John Updike on the Universe and Why There is Something Rather Than Nothing

“The mystery of being is a permanent mystery, at least given the present state of the human brain.”

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The Probability That You Are Dreaming Right Now? 1 in 10.
The Probability That You Are Dreaming Right Now? 1 in 10.

Navigating the maze of dream-decisions, dream-consequences, and the invariable world of experiences.

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Francis Bacon on Learning and How to Read Intelligently
Francis Bacon on Learning and How to Read Intelligently

“Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider.”

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The Science of “Chunking,” Working Memory, and How Pattern Recognition Fuels Creativity
The Science of “Chunking,” Working Memory, and How Pattern Recognition Fuels Creativity

“Generating interesting connections between disparate subjects is what makes art so fascinating to create and to view… We are forced to contemplate a new, higher pattern that binds lower ones together.”

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Anaïs Nin on Life, Hand-Lettered by Artist Lisa Congdon
Anaïs Nin on Life, Hand-Lettered by Artist Lisa Congdon

“You live out the confusions until they become clear.”

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Stanley Kubrick on Fear, Mortality, and the Purpose of Life: A Rare 1968 Playboy Interview
Stanley Kubrick on Fear, Mortality, and the Purpose of Life: A Rare 1968 Playboy Interview

“However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.”

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Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren: A Hopeful Vision for Post-Occupy Humanity circa 1930
Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren: A Hopeful Vision for Post-Occupy Humanity circa 1930

“The love of money as a possession — as distinguished from the love of money as a means to the enjoyments and realities of life — will be recognised for what it is, a somewhat disgusting morbidity.”

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Thoreau on Defining Your Own Success
Thoreau on Defining Your Own Success

“If the day and the night are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is more elastic, more starry, more immortal — that is your success.”

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