The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (Incerto Book 4)
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If your anger decreases with time, you did injustice; if it increases, you suffered injustice.
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We tend to define rudeness less by the words used (what is said) than by the status of the recipient (to whom it is addressed).
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One of life’s machinations is to make some people both rich and unhappy, that is, jointly fragile and deprived of hope.
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Most people fear being without audiovisual stimulation because they are too repetitive when they think and imagine things on their own.
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Wisdom in the young is as unattractive as frivolity in the elderly.
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Life is about execution rather than purpose.
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If you get easily bored, it means that your BS detector is functioning properly; if you forget (some) things, it means that your mind knows how to filter; and if you feel sadness, it means that you are human.
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Quite revealing of human preferences that more suicides come from shame or loss of financial and social status than medical diagnoses.
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I wonder how many people would seek excessive wealth if it did not carry a measure of status with it.
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It is a good practice to always apologize, except when you have done something wrong.
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It seems that it is the most unsuccessful people who give the most advice, particularly for writing and financial matters.
Jake Losh
But do they tend to give good advice?
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People tend to whisper when they say the truth and raise their voice when they lie.
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For so many, instead of looking for “cause of death” when they expire, we should be looking for “cause of life” when they are still around.
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What I learned on my own I still remember.
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The tragedy is that much of what you think is random is in your control and, what’s worse, the opposite.
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The sucker’s trap is when you focus on what you know and what others don’t know, rather than the reverse.
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You may outlive your strength, never your wisdom.
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Weak men act to satisfy their needs, stronger men their duties.
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Virtue is when the income you wish to show the tax agency exceeds what you wish to show your neighbor.
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To test someone’s robustness to reputational errors, ask a man in front of an audience if he is “still doing poorly” or if he is “still losing money” and watch his reaction.
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When conflicted between two choices, take neither.
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Mediocre men tend to be outraged by small insults but passive, subdued, and silent in front of very large ones.
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It takes some humanity to feel sympathy for those less fortunate than us; but it takes honor to avoid envying those who are much luckier.
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You know you have influence when people start noticing your absence more than the presence of others.
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If something looks irrational—and has been so for a long time—odds are you have a wrong definition of rationality.