Aphorgasm #5

Roberto Bolano was right. The most important characteristics of intelligence are curiosity and humor. I would say the third most important is perseverance through boredom. Because more often than we would like, knowledge and inspiration can only be found beneath thick layers of tedium and dullness. In the same way that, more often than we would like, wisdom can only be found beneath a large pile of shitty experiences.

Aphorgasm #4

True test of vanity. You have nose hairs peeking at work. Do you walk around with freaking elephant tusks sticking out of your nose and wait until you get home to cut them? Or do you use your fingernails to pluck, which will literally bring tears to your eyes?

Aphorgasm #3

I used to think that learning history was like stacking chairs. The more chairs you stacked, the higher you could sit and get a better view of what's been going on. And you had to do it chronologically. Trying to understand WWII without understanding WWI, or trying to learn about the Romans without first learning about the Greeks, was like trying to hang a chair in mid-air. But now I see history as a giant net or web and it pretty much doesn't matter where you dive in. You can follow the threads in any direction. It's not about getting a higher view. It's about being able to feel your way around without getting lost.

Aphorgasm #2

The most sane ambition is to shrink yourself. Or as Wendell Berry puts it, to become one among the grasses.

Aphorgasm #1

Persistence is a virtue. I wish I had more of it. But then changing my mind, the willingness to change my mind, is a virtue as well. I mean, to persistently travel down the wrong road or stubbornly believe something I know may be false--that's just stupid.

Aphorgasm

aph*or*gasm n. A nugget of philosophical writing by Sub-sub-librarian. Usually composed in ecstatic inspiration, but of dubious wisdom and very much a letdown after just a few minutes.