A sentiment which I eco...
Stuck in a room today for several hours with rather dumb people who thought the veracity of their arguments could be increased merely by expressing them in increasingly loud voices. Eventually, I acquiesced. When there is a thousand cow herd galloping madly towards the edge of an extremely tall cliff, there's only one real option for the cow in the center...
"What did I really think 15 years ago? A nonbeliever, I felt guilty in the midst of all those believers. And since it seemed to me that they were in the right, I decided to believe, as you might decide to take an aspirin: It can't hurt, and you might get better."
-Umberto Eco, Foucault's Pendulum
Comments (4)
I have a few co workers like that.\r
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And I spent about 10 years in that herd, \r
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Putting down the security blanket of belief is scary, the world is cold, cruel, and complicated, \"the children\" can't cope without help. I think many people shout those arguments to convince themselves as much as their antagonists\r
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Let them have their blankies.
Mmmm, ground beef! \r
The world isn't that cold and cruel if you have a good herd.
Do you mean being a member of a good herd...\r
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or do you mean we should eat good members of the herd?\r
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(I'm partial to a good ribeye, medium rare)
When I was learning to drive my father yelled at me that \"THEY ARE ALL SHEEP, AUTUMN, ALL OF THEM! NEVER BE A SHEEP!\" \r
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I didn't know how to take it then...but in retrospect I am glad he freaked out on me while behind the wheel of a car I barely knew how to control on a crowded highway. \r
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:D