The task of a writer consists of being able to make something out of an idea.
Thomas MannRead
No man remains quite what he was when he recognizes himself.
Interpretation
Self-awareness changes one's identity and perspective.
This quote by Thomas Mann suggests that the act of self-recognition transforms an individual. When someone becomes aware of their true self, it impacts their character, beliefs, and experiences, thus leading to growth and change in their identity.
In practice
During a motivational talk about self-discovery.
The task of a writer consists of being able to make something out of an idea.
Stupid β well, there are so many kinds of stupidity, and cleverness is one of the worst.
It is a strange fact that freedom and equality, the two basic ideas of democracy, are to some extent contradictory. Logically considered, freedom and equality are mutually exclusive, just as society and the individual are mutually exclusive.
I tell them that if they will occupy themselves with the study of mathematics they will find in it the best remedy against the lusts of the flesh.
Literature... is the union of suffering with the instinct for form.
The Freudian theory is one of the most important foundation stones for an edifice to be built by future generations, the dwelling of a freer and wiser humanity.
How could so many intelligent people be so grievously wrong for such an extended period of time? How could they ignore so much overwhelming evidence that contradicted their most basic theories? These questions, too, deserve their own discipline: the sociology of error.
But when one believes in the reality of things, making them visible by artificial means is not quite the same as feeling that they are close at hand.
I believe in God the way I believe in quarks. People whose business it is to know about quantum physics or religion tell me they have good reason to believe that quarks and God exist. And they tell me that if I wanted to devote my life to learning what they've learned, I'd find quarks and God just like they did.
Aging does not need to be hidden or denied, but can be understood, affirmed and experienced as a process of growth by which the mystery of life is slowly revealed to us.
Most people are basically a victim of the circumstances of their life. They have things like 9/11, they have terrorism threats, they have new war threats, they have economy problems, and they think, 'What can I do? I'm basically a victim.'
Prohibition is an attempted cure that makes matters worse - for both the addict and the rest of us.
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