David > David's Quotes

“Some people talk in their sleep. Lecturers talk while other people sleep”
― Albert Camus

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
― Frank Herbert, Dune

“The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
― Robert Frost

“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few books to be read wholly, and with diligence and attraction.”
― Francis Bacon

“I don't know why we are here, but I'm pretty sure that it is not in order to enjoy ourselves.”
― Ludwig Wittgenstein

“What does it mean to construct digital worlds while the actual world is crumbling before our eyes?”
― Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy

“School is one thing. Education is another. The two don’t always overlap. Whether you’re in school or not, it’s always your job to get yourself an education.”
― Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

“If you ever find that you’re the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.”
― Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

“What we respond to in any work of art is the artist’s struggle against his or her limitations.”
― Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

“The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”
― Cal Newport, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

“Whatever your dreams are, start taking them very, very seriously.”
― Chris Guillebeau, The Art of Non Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want and Change the World

“If, at the end of the war, the scientific organization, which had been created in order to liberate men for fighting and munition work, had been preserved, and the hours of work had been cut down to four, all would have been well. Instead of that the old chaos was restored, those whose work was demanded were made to work long hours, and the rest were left to starve as unemployed. Why? Because work is a duty, and a man should not receive wages in proportion to what he has produced, but in proportion to his virtue as exemplified by his industry.”
― Bertrand Russell, In Praise of Idleness

“The war showed conclusively that, by the scientific organization of production, it is possible to keep modern populations in fair comfort on a small part of the working capacity of the modern world.”
― Bertrand Russell, In Praise of Idleness

“There was formerly a capacity for lightheartedness and play which has been to some extent inhibited by the cult of efficiency. The modern man thinks that everything ought to be done for the sake of something else, and never for its own sake.”
― Bertrand Russell, In Praise of Idleness

“We think too much of production, and too little of consumption. One result is that we attach too little importance to enjoyment and simple happiness, and that we do not judge production by the pleasure that it gives to the consumer.”
― Bertrand Russell, In Praise of Idleness

“I headed back to university to study engineering. I started at the lowest possible level of math—algebra for people who had failed it in high school.”
― Barbara Oakley, Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens

“It’s easy to believe that you should only concentrate on subjects that come easily for you. But my story reveals that you can do well in subjects you don’t even like. The truth is, it’s okay to follow your passions. But I also found that broadening my passions opened many wonderful opportunities. Learning new subjects I didn’t think I could do turned out to be an adventure!”
― Barbara Oakley, Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens

“Neuroscientists have discovered that your brain works in two different ways. We’ll call these two ways of working the focused mode and the diffuse mode.* Both modes are important in helping you to learn.”
― Barbara Oakley, Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens

“Believe me. Until you have completed the once-in-a-lifetime event of putting your house in order, any attempt to tidy on a daily basis is doomed to failure. Conversely, once you have put your house in order, tidying will be reduced to the very simple task of putting things back where they belong. In fact, this becomes an unconscious habit. I use the term ‘special event’ because it is crucial to tackle this job within a short space of time while you are energised and excited about what you are doing.”
― Marie Kondō, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying

“All you need to do is take the time to sit down and examine each item you own, decide whether you want to keep or discard it, and then choose where to put what you keep.”
― Marie Kondō, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

“Diffuse mode is when we’re not focusing on anything in particular. You can enter diffuse mode by just letting go and not concentrating on anything. Going for a walk helps. Or looking out a window from a bus. Or taking a shower. Or falling asleep. (Many famous people have had great insights when the events of the day were sloshing around during sleep.”
― Barbara Oakley, Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens

“Pulling the key idea from your own mind, instead of just reading or rereading it on the page, is the critical idea behind active recall.”
― Barbara Oakley, Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens

“Today’s scientific research confirms what Santiago discovered. We can all “think” ourselves smarter. Learning makes us smarter. And learning how to learn is one of the best things you can do to get the ball rolling and make learning more successful”
― Barbara Oakley, Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens

“If you spend some time learning a particular item each day for several days, it allows you to get several periods of sleep. This gives more time for new synaptic links to grow and helps the new learning to really take hold.”
― Barbara Oakley, Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens

“Exercise isn’t just good for every organ in your body. It’s good for your brain, too. It improves understanding, decision-making, and focusing. It assists with remembering and switching between tasks. It can also help people recover from mental illness. Some psychiatrists say that exercise is stronger than any medicine.”
― Barbara Oakley, Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens

“This idea of focusing on the harder stuff is called deliberate practice.2 Deliberate practice is how you become an expert more quickly in whatever you are studying.”
― Barbara Oakley, Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens

“Interleaving: Interleaving means practicing different aspects of what you are trying to learn so you understand the differences between the techniques. Chapter 4 in your algebra textbook may introduce you to one set of problem-solving techniques, while chapter 5 introduces you to a different set of problem-solving techniques. Interleaving means alternating between chapter 4– and chapter”
― Barbara Oakley, Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens

“We learn best when we use several different senses—hearing, seeing, and, perhaps especially, being able to feel with our hands. At deep levels in your brain, you see and hear. You see and smell. You hear and touch. When your brain creates its impressions of the world, you want as many senses involved as possible.”
― Barbara Oakley, Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens

“It seems that your attentional octopus can be more easily distracted by loud music, and by music with words in it. The words fill one of your octopus’s arms, making it less efficient. But quieter music with no words can sometimes be helpful, depending on what you are studying.”
― Barbara Oakley, Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens

“I never lose, I either win or learn”
― Nelson Mandela