They say you can't study Kabbalah until you are at least 40 years old. You know why? You have to have experienced at least one generation making the same mistakes as the previous one.
David MametRead
Fun is what you do for yourself. If somebody else does it, it's entertainment.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Fun is a personal experience, while entertainment is something provided by others.
This quote by David Mamet distinguishes between 'fun' and 'entertainment' by suggesting that true enjoyment comes from personal engagement and self-directed activities, whereas entertainment is a passive experience offered by others. It highlights the importance of individual agency in the pursuit of joy.
Themes
FunEntertainmentPersonal EnjoymentEngagementJoy
In practice
Example use cases
Sharing this quote during a workshop on creativity and personal fulfillment.
More from David Mamet
All quotes →My alma mater is the Chicago Public Library. I got what little educational foundation I got in the third-floor reading room, under the tutelage of a Coca-Cola sign.
David MametRead
You know, young actors say all the time, 'Should I use my own life experience?' And my response is, 'What choice do you have?'
David MametRead
It's hard for a Jew of my generation, an American Jew, who is philo-Zionistic, not to romanticize Israel.
David MametRead
You can't write about history without writing about politics at some point. History is about movements of people. 'What is criminality and what is government' is a theme that runs through every history.
David MametRead
Every reiteration of the idea that nothing matters debases the human spirit.
David MametRead
Similar quotes
Well, Bud," he said, looking at me, "I'll be damned if you don't go to a lot of trouble to have your fun. Kidnapping, then fighting. What do you do on your holidays? Burn houses?
William FaulknerRead
It is impossible to obtain a conviction for sodomy from an English jury. Half of them don't believe that it can physically be done, and the other half are doing it.
Winston ChurchillRead
Some minds are like soup in a poor restaurant—better left unstirred.
P. G. WodehouseRead
Bigamy is the only crime where two rites make a wrong.
Bob HopeRead
Some debts are fun while you are acquiring them, But none are fun when you set about retiring them.
Ogden NashRead
I just want a hot cup of coffee,black,and I don’t want to hear about your troubles.
Charles BukowskiRead