sonder (uncountable) (neologism) The profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passing in the street, has a life as complex as one's own, which they are constantly living despite one's personal lack of awareness of it. For them, you are the distant car light, a silhouette in a window, a footprint on a beach, a trash next to the sidewalk.
Ask HN: What is a quote that permanently changed the way you think?
61–70 of 92 posts
Re: Ask HN: What is a quote that permanently changed the way you think?
#62So far in life, I've coped with annoyances better by guarding my inputs rather than attempting to control other peoples' outputs - My wording, but the concept will be as old as the hills.
Some I've seen, liked, and noted :
"Every action has its pleasures and its price" - Socrates
"Build a life you don't need to regularly escape from."
"Find the hard work you're willing to do."
Re: Ask HN: What is a quote that permanently changed the way you think?
#63From Ton Roosendaal (Blender) on a GSoC mailing list [1] some years ago that stuck with me and I always tell new hires or interns when they make mention of not having anything to show.
Something I also have to remind myself of every now and then when I spend days or weeks researching a topic without anything user facing to show during that time.
> You cannot spend time on something without having done something. Progress is not a requirement. If you spend time on learning something, report on what you learned, If you read a book, write a short summary of it. If you make demo files to test things, show the demo files and report on the tests.
[1] https://archive.blender.org/lists/soc-2017-dev/2017-July/000...
Re: Ask HN: What is a quote that permanently changed the way you think?
#64Who among us has not felt,
When walking through the twilight,
Or writing down a date from the past,
That they have lost something infinite?
-- Jorge Luis BorgesRe: Ask HN: What is a quote that permanently changed the way you think?
#65When I was ~14, I read a line from Grand Admiral Thrawn in the Star Wars novel Heir to the Empire. It's not especially profound, but the younger one is exposed to this mentality, the better.
> Do you know the difference between an error and a mistake, Ensign? Anyone can make an error, Ensign. But that error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.
Re: Ask HN: What is a quote that permanently changed the way you think?
#66If I have one message to give to the secular American people, it’s that the world is not divided into countries. The world is not divided between East and West. You are American, I am Iranian, we don’t know each other, but we talk together and we understand each other perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my g…
I understand the general thrust of this point. And there are many things to agree with..
But just a reminder. Iran still commits public executions by hanging. For things like blasphemy.
Re: Ask HN: What is a quote that permanently changed the way you think?
#67"Should I try to be a straight-A student?
If you are, then you think too much."--Billy Joel, "It's Still Rock'n'Roll to Me"
At first this led to a slacker attitude about education.
Then I realized that knowledge >>> ignorance.
The final conclusion is that credentials are as good as far as they go, but knowledge is key.
Re: Ask HN: What is a quote that permanently changed the way you think?
#68If I have one message to give to the secular American people, it’s that the world is not divided into countries. The world is not divided between East and West. You are American, I am Iranian, we don’t know each other, but we talk together and we understand each other perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my g…
I understand the general thrust of this point. And there are many things to agree with.. But just a reminder. Iran still commits public executions by hanging. For things like blasphemy.
...which underscores the point that individuals != governments.
Re: Ask HN: What is a quote that permanently changed the way you think?
#69“Slow is Smooth; Smooth is Fast.”
I've heard "...smooth is quick", too.
Re: Ask HN: What is a quote that permanently changed the way you think?
#70Es ist nicht deine Schuld, dass die Welt ist wie sie ist, doch es ist deine Schuld wenn sie so bleibt.