... bums on the outside, libraries inside.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of knowledge that can be found inside individuals, regardless of their external appearances.
Ray Bradbury's quote 'bums on the outside, libraries inside' suggests that people may often be judged by their outward appearance, but true value and wisdom can be found within. It encourages a deeper understanding of individuals, recognizing that everyone has their own unique experiences and knowledge worth exploring, often hidden beneath a superficial façade.
In practice
In a speech about community service, one might use this quote to highlight that people can offer much more than what meets the eye.
I've written about 2,000 short stories; I've only published 300 and I feel I'm still learning. Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he'll eventually make some kind of career for himself as a writer. Ray Bradbury, 1967 interview (Doing the Math - that means for every story he sold, he wrote six "un-publishable" ones. Keep typing!)
I never went to college, so I went to the library.
There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.
I think the sun is a flower, That blooms for just one hour.
The first thing a writer should be is - excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it'd be better for his health.
You can't try to do things; you simply must do them.
Knowledge is taken from breath, not lives in a book
I read for the 'ah-ha's,' the information that makes a light bulb go off in my mind. I want to put information in my mind that is going to be the most beneficial to me, my family and my fellow man - financially, morally, spiritually, and emotionally.
All new learning looks at first like chaos.
What nobler employment, or more valuable to the state, than that of the man who instructs the rising generation?
Canada sets aside 36 percent of their visas for people with skills they think their country needs. We set aside six percent. We educate the doctors, and then don't give 'em a green card.
I started my own Pies Descalzos/Barefoot Foundation when I was 18. We provide education to vulnerable children in Colombia and other developing countries. I am an avid believer that education - and especially early childhood development - is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty.
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