Government proposes, bureaucracy disposes. And the bureaucracy must dispose of government proposals by dumping them on us.
P. J. O'RourkeRead
The library, with its Daedalian labyrinth, mysterious hush, and faintly ominous aroma of knowledge, has been replaced by the computer's cheap glow, pesky chirp, and data spillage.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote contrasts the depth and mystery of traditional libraries with the superficiality of modern technology.
P. J. O'Rourke's quote reflects on the transformative shift from traditional libraries to digital technology, highlighting the intricate and immersive experience of exploring knowledge in a library, characterized by its labyrinthine structure and rich sensory elements. In contrast, the modern computer is depicted as offering a more superficial, less engaging interaction with information, with its bright screens and constant notifications, thereby diminishing the enchanting experience of learning.
Themes
LibraryTechnologyKnowledgeEducationInformation
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of education, I might say this quote to emphasize the value of traditional learning environments.
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Predicting innovation is something of a self-canceling exercise: the most probable innovations are probably the least innovative.
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I spend my days kneeling in the muck of language, feeling around for gooey verbs, nouns, and modifiers that I can squash together to make a blob of a sentence that bears some likeness to reason and sense.
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Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine.
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The idea of a news broadcast once was to find someone with information and broadcast it. The idea now is to find someone with ignorance and spread it around.
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