Meaningful ideas and quotes

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

‘It is an obvious and blatant stupidity beyond my ability to articulate how dumb it is for us to not teach our children how to run the government.’ - Richard Dreyfuss

Boru

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

‘All cruelty springs from weakness.’ - Seneca

Boru

[Angrboda]

If, twenty-five years ago, someone had described to you a country in which candidates threatened to lock up their rivals, political opponents accused the government of stealing the election or establishing a dictatorship, and parties used their legislative majorities to impeach presidents and steal supreme court seats, you might have thought of Ecuador or Romania. You probably would not have thought of the United States.

How Democracies Die. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt.

[Angrboda]

So if you blame Facebook, Trump or Putin for ushering in a new and frightening era of post-truth, remind yourself that centuries ago millions of Christians locked themselves inside a self-reinforcing mythological bubble, never daring to question the factual veracity of the Bible, while millions of Muslims put their unquestioning faith in the Qur’an. For millennia, much of what passed for “news” and “facts” in human social networks were stories about miracles, angels, demons and witches, with bold reporters giving live coverage straight from the deepest pits of the underworld. We have zero scientific evidence that Eve was tempted by the serpent, that the souls of all infidels burn in hell after they die, or that the creator of the universe doesn’t like it when a Brahmin marries an Untouchable – yet billions of people have believed in these stories for thousands of years. Some fake news lasts for ever.

I am aware that many people might be upset by my equating religion with fake news, but that’s exactly the point. When a thousand people believe some made-up story for one month, that’s fake news. When a billion people believe it for a thousand years, that’s a religion, and we are admonished not to call it fake news in order not to hurt the feelings of the faithful (or incur their wrath). Note, however, that I am not denying the effectiveness or potential benevolence of religion. Just the opposite. For better or worse, fiction is among the most effective tools in humanity’s toolkit. By bringing people together, religious creeds make large-scale human cooperation possible. They inspire people to build hospitals, schools and bridges in addition to armies and prisons. Adam and Eve never existed, but Chartres Cathedral is still beautiful. Much of the Bible may be fictional, but it can still bring joy to billions and encourage humans to be compassionate, courageous and creative – just like other great works of fiction, such as Don Quixote, War and Peace and Harry Potter.

Yuval Noah Harari extract: ‘Humans are a post-truth species’

[Cod]

Life is like a box of chocolates. It doesn't last long if you're fat.
-Joe someone

[Maketakunai]

The burdens of a cherry tree are the reason it blossoms.
-Sum Zen'shit

[Angrboda]

[Alan V]

It's an unfortunate fact, however, that some intellectuals become enantiodromias who make up new falsehoods.

[Athene]

  

[Fireball]

Port is on the left, Starboard is on the right.