A great book seeks to explain causality, not correlation. It works to point out the circumstances in which it works, and where it doesn't. And in so doing, it is broadly applicable.
Clayton M. ChristensenRead
I felt grateful to Ataturk that my parents were so well educated, that they weren't held back by superstition or religion, that they were true scientists who taught me how to read when I was three and never doubted that I could become a writer.
Interpretation
This quote expresses gratitude for having educated parents who encouraged scientific thinking and literacy.
Elif Batuman reflects on the immense gratitude she feels towards Ataturk for the education her parents received. Their background in science, free from the constraints of superstition and religion, helped foster her own intellectual development, allowing her to read at a young age and instilling a belief in her potential as a writer. This highlights the significance of education and supportive parenting in shaping one's future.
In practice
In a graduation speech celebrating the importance of education and family influence, one might reference this quote.
A great book seeks to explain causality, not correlation. It works to point out the circumstances in which it works, and where it doesn't. And in so doing, it is broadly applicable.
The quality of your public education shouldn't be defined by your zip code.
The humanities are like the great old Paris Flea Market where, amidst masses of junk, people with a good eye found cast away treasures...They are like a refugee camp where all the geniuses driven out of their jobs and countries by unfriendly regimes are idling.
Why are fanatics so terrified of girls' education? Because there's no force more powerful to transform a society. The greatest threat to extremism isn't drones firing missiles, but girls reading books.
When you write what you know, you stay in control. One of the first things I encourage my writing students to do is to lose control - say what they want to say, break structure.
I sat down in 1989 and I made up my mind at that point that I was going to spend the rest of my life assisting women and youth to gain social and political empowerment through business and education. I convinced myself economic empowerment of women was going to be key, especially in a country like this where most women didn't go to school.
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