John Myles White: Die Sudelbücher » Aphorisms

An Alternative to Occam’s Razor

John Myles White — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:19:24 +0000

In light of human foibles, I would suggest that this decision rule be used in lieu of Occam’s Razor: of several possible explanations for an observation, the most boring one is probably the most accurate.

Verbs and Nouns

John Myles White — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:08:43 +0000

When love is a feeling rather than an action, it is nearly worthless.

Dreams and Despair

John Myles White — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:17:42 +0000

We often find it easier to endure the evils we have sought to avoid than the good fortune that we have dreamt of.

The Most Lasting Works of Art

John Myles White — Fri, 22 May 2009 03:27:04 +0000

A work of art often remains important to us throughout life not because of any intrinsic worth, but simply because we came upon it precisely in the moment when it could be of the greatest value to us.

Second Chances

John Myles White — Fri, 22 May 2009 03:24:56 +0000

Surely we should give others second chances, but there is no reason why we should we give a second chance to someone who has never given us a first chance.

Leibniz’s Theodicy

John Myles White — Fri, 22 May 2009 03:24:46 +0000

We are at our happiest when we agree with Leibniz, who thought that life’s suffering are as essential to its beauty as dissonance is essential to the beauty of music. But there is something coldly indifferent to the misfortunes of others in this sort of happiness.

To Have Played One’s Role

John Myles White — Mon, 18 May 2009 01:19:26 +0000

It is often better to have thought through something for oneself and made a honest mistake than to have succeeded simply because you followed orders without thinking. Modern society, with its perpetually growing complexity, requires ever more of the latter, but the depth of our character and intellect depends almost exclusively on the former.

A Single Date

John Myles White — Sun, 17 May 2009 19:08:09 +0000

It is a great injustice when we meet a woman only once and become infatuated with her: we have lost the chance to learn enough about her to be glad that we will never see her again.

Measuring Others’ Opinions

John Myles White — Sun, 17 May 2009 19:05:45 +0000

We measure the accuracy of others’ opinions by their consonance with our own.

Morality’s Perversity

John Myles White — Tue, 12 May 2009 20:47:44 +0000

Few acts are considered more despicable than refusing to join your fellow countrymen in a war against an essentially innocent people.

The Limits of Love

John Myles White — Sun, 10 May 2009 18:40:29 +0000

There is a limit to the amount of love we can feel. If one person already receives all of it, the rest of the world will receive almost none.

A question we ask too rarely about potential partners: does this person have any love left to offer?

Freedom and Fatalism

John Myles White — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 02:16:15 +0000

Freedom begins with the faith that our lives do not have to be the way they are now. Perhaps that is even the entirety of freedom — a state of mind, rather than a state of being.

Understanding and Forgiveness

John Myles White — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:44:25 +0000

We are much better off if the proverb, “to understand all is to forgive all,” is not true for us. Insofar as it is true, we are likely to try to insure that we do not understand — because we know full well that we do not want to forgive.

Once again, the perfect is the enemy of the good.

Unfamiliar Vices

John Myles White — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 04:13:05 +0000

People often act as if disgust and surprise were intrinsically linked, but there is no reason why familiar vices should trouble us less than unfamiliar ones. At least the unfamiliar have the charm of novelty in their favor.

Ambition and Ruthlessness

John Myles White — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:13:05 +0000

Ambition and ruthlessness are so often found in the same persons that they are frequently confused, but, in truth, ruthlessness is generally a sign of personal weaknesses that impose natural limits on the fruition of one’s ambitions.

The man willing to do anything to get ahead generally can do nothing very well — and thus finds himself increasingly forced into pursuing criminality and vice as the means for fulfilling his ambitions. Yet plainly the Sergey Brin’s and Warren Buffett’s of American society confirm that it possible for talented people with scruples to be enormously successful.