Slovenology Quotes

“The smartest people, and the best writers, are the ones who can make a complicated idea seem simple, not the other way around.”
― Noah Charney, Slovenology: Living and Traveling in the World’s Best Country

“Slovene essayists like to employ an abstruse lexicon. This idea that sounding complicated makes you sound clever is not universally shared, however. Most American readers would say that anyone who uses exotic words, like “abstruse lexicon” are over-compensating for a lack of content, and that to look up ten-euro words in a thesaurus makes you sound desperate, not clever.”
― Noah Charney, Slovenology: Living and Traveling in the World’s Best Country

“keeping with our old friend Cicero, here are the three points of comparison that I will discuss in this essay: the preferences for 1) Anglophone outlining of one’s arguments vs. European drifting through arguments more organically; 2) Anglophone clarity vs. European intellectuality; and, 3) Anglophone arguments through specific anecdotes that demonstrate ideas from a practical standpoint vs. European discussion of theories in the abstract.”
― Noah Charney, Slovenology: Living and Traveling in the World’s Best Country

“Though the multitude of Plečnik’s architecture is what most foreigners recall after visiting Ljubljana, there is no single iconic view that defines Ljubljana for the visitor.”
― Noah Charney, Slovenology: Living and Traveling in the World’s Best Country

“One of the problems with Slovenia’s international identity is that, when people think of Slovenia, there is no single, iconic image that comes to mind, one that acts as a badge or place-holder for this country or for its capital city. For those who have visited Slovenia, an aerial view of Lake Bled, with its island church and cliff-top castle, is probably the best, and most memorable, image of the country.”
― Noah Charney, Slovenology: Living and Traveling in the World’s Best Country

“The country is frustratingly conservative and non-progressive socially, at least by American standards. Racism and homophobia are often overt here, and with no consequences. Outside of the center of Ljubljana, I’ve never seen an openly gay couple, and people even do double-takes when they see anyone who is not Caucasian.”
― Noah Charney, Slovenology: Living and Traveling in the World’s Best Country

“What an awful thing to teach your children: don’t bother dreaming or striving, as you’ll only fail and end up worse than you were when you started.”
― Noah Charney, Slovenology: Living and Traveling in the World’s Best Country

“Stare at the stars and you’ll step in shit.”
― Noah Charney, Slovenology: Living and Traveling in the World’s Best Country