Quotes and thoughts for the day

Carol Dee

Garden Master
Joined
Apr 28, 2011
Messages
12,961
Reaction score
20,355
Points
437
Location
Long Grove, IA
1667516811483.png
 

Pulsegleaner

Garden Addicted
Joined
Apr 18, 2014
Messages
3,314
Reaction score
6,339
Points
296
Location
Lower Hudson Valley, New York
Carl L. Becker, President of the American Historical Association 1931:

Berate him as we will for not reading our books, Mr. Everyman is stronger than we are, and sooner or later we must adapt our knowledge to his necessities. Otherwise he will leave us to our own devices, leave us it may be to cultivate a species of dry professional arrogance growing out of the thin soil of antiquarian research. Such research, valuable not in itself but for some ulterior purpose, will be of little import except in so far as it is transmuted into common knowledge. The history that lies inert in unread books does no work in the world.
This is sort of why I always got angry at the story about the time Socrates threw a student out of his Academy for having a "base and unrefined soul" just because he asked if there were practical uses geometry could be put to. In Socrates's view, loving knowledge meant never debasing it by actually trying to APPLY it.
 

digitS'

Garden Master
Joined
Dec 13, 2007
Messages
25,713
Reaction score
28,711
Points
457
Location
border, ID/WA(!)
I have posted this before but this is what I feel is especially a sad and pertinent meaning that one can take from that Becker quote. And, Aldous Huxley said it best:

barrenshore.png
 

Marie2020

Garden Addicted
Joined
May 21, 2020
Messages
2,633
Reaction score
5,121
Points
215
@digitS' Good quote 👌


My humble quote...

We once were taught valuable solutions from elders and in turn they learned valuable lessons from their elders before them.

Sadly today, all wisdom and lesson's learned are conveniently dismissed and with time forgotten
 
Last edited:

flowerbug

Garden Master
Joined
Oct 15, 2017
Messages
15,877
Reaction score
23,767
Points
417
Location
mid-Michigan, USoA
"It is better to have tried and failed than to have failed to try, but the result's the same." - Mike Dennison

i don't agree with the conclusion that the result is the same because if you have tried and failed you have likely learned something from the experience...
 

Latest posts

Top