. . . there are periods of history when the visions of madmen and dope fiends are a better guide to reality than the common-sense interpretation of data available to the so-called normal mind. This is one such period, if you haven't noticed already. |
A monopoly on the means of communication may define a ruling elite more precisely than the celebrated Marxian formula of 'monopoly in the means of production.' |
All of us should treasure his (John Dillinger) Oriental wisdom and his preaching of a Zen-like detachment, as exemplified by his constant reminder to clerks, tellers, or others who grew excited by his presence in their banks: "Just lie down on the f |
Belief is the death of intelligence |
Belief is the death of intelligence |
Belief is the death of intelligence. As soon as one believes a doctrine of any sort, or assumes certitude, one stops thinking about that aspect of existence. |
Cynics regarded everybody as equally corrupt. . . . Idealists regarded everybody equally corrupt, except themselves. |
Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation was denounced as fraud and folly. The entire web of culture and "progress," everything on earth that is man-made and not given to us by nature, is the concrete manifestation of some man's refusal to bow to Authority. We would own no more, know no more, and be no more than the first apelike hominids if it were not for the rebellious, the recalcitrant, and the intransigent. As Oscar Wilde truly said, "Disobedience was man's Original Virtue." |
I didn't know what I saw -- swamp gas, space ship, sundog, weather balloon. What impressed me was my parents' fear of reporting the sighting. I realized that even in our allegedly rational age many things remain unspeakable -- damned, blasphemous. George Carlin can't do his comedy on networks because the comedy depends on taboo words. We remain governed by taboo to an astounding extent. |
I don't believe anything I write or say. I regard belief as a form of brain damage, the death of intelligence, the fracture of creativity, the atrophy of imagination. I have opinions but no Belief System (B.S.) |
I think I got off on the wrong planet. Beam me up Scotty, there's no rational life here. |
If you think you know what the hell is going on, you're probably full of shit. |
Intelligence is the capacity to receive, decode and transmit information efficiently. Stupidity is blockage of this process at any point. Bigotry, ideologies etc. block the ability to receive; robotic reality-tunnels block the ability to decode or integrate new signals; censorship blocks transmission. |
It only takes 20 years for a liberal to become a conservative without changing a single idea. |
Nothing of any importance can be taught. It can only be learned, and with blood and sweat. |