Necessity is blind until it becomes conscious. Freedom is the consciousness of necessity.
As Dr. Chiang puts it, “while Buddha came to China on white elephants, Christ was borne on cannon balls.
No matter how high are one's estimates of human stupidity, one is repeatedly and recurrently startled by the fact that:a) people whom one had once judged rational and intelligent turn out to be unashamedly stupid. b) day after day, with unceasing monotony, one is harassed in one's activities by stupid individuals who appear suddenly and unexpectedly in the most inconvenient places and at the most improbable moments.
Our daily life is mostly, made of cases in which we lose money andor time andor energy andor appetite, cheerfulness and good health because of the improbable action of some preposterous creature who has nothing to gain and indeed gains nothing from causing us embarrassment, difficulties or harm. Nobody knows, understands or can possibly explain why that preposterous creature does what he does. In fact there is no explanation - or better there is only one explanation: the person in question is stupid.
Always and inevitably everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals in circulation.
The “Vasco da Gama's era” ends in a nightmare in which men-Westerners and non-Westerners alike-are bewildered by this confusion and the old fancy of the apprenti sorcier becomes tragically actual.
A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person or to a group of persons while himself deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses.
Do you prefer ‘fashion victim’ or ‘ensembly challenged’?
What would they do to me," he asked in confidential tones, "if I refused to fly them?" We'd probably shoot you," ex-P. F. C. Wintergreen replied. We?" Yossarian cried in surprise. "What do you mean, we? Since when are you on their side?" If you're going to be shot, whose side do you expect me to be on?" ex-P. F. C. Wintergreen retorted
Coming out is a means of redefining oneself, of claiming membership in a lifestyle and a social order with distinct values. Chief among these values is honesty.
Whenever I have tried to do anything For Money it has always led me astray.