A glimpse into an account of my readings, a collection of quotes that informed my thinking, challenged my worldview and shaped my approach to life more than I often realize.
Nothing that’s past can be an object of choice. You can’t choose to have sacked Troy. Because you can’t deliberate about the past, either. You can only deliberate about things that are still going to happen and that might come to be. But what’s happened can’t not have happened. That’s why Agathon’s couplet is right: "The only power that even heaven lacks:
To change the past, to make what’s done undone."
Nicomachean Ethics – Aristotle
If anyone can show me, and prove to me, that I am wrong in thought or deed, I will gladly change. I seek the truth, which never yet hurt anybody. It is only persistence in self-delusion and ignorance which does harm.
Meditations – Marcus Aurelius
Reading exposed me to ideas I may never have arrived at on my own, challenging me to broaden my perspectives through others' logical framework and individual circumstances, without always needing to decide whether they were right or wrong.
The problem is that those who say nothing wrong often say nothing much at all. An overly timid engagement with the debates of our times will rob one of the ferocity of feeling that is necessary to move the world. “If you do not feel it, you will not get it by hunting for it,” Goethe reminds us in Faust. “You will never touch the hearts of others, if it does not emerge from your own.”
The Technological Republic – Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir
Humble words, coupled with increased preparations are a sign of impending attack; strong words, coupled with an aggressive advance, are a sign of impending retreat.
The Art of War – Sun Tzu
I also came across beautiful prose that made me feel deeply human ...
It all comes back. Perhaps it is different to see the value in having one's self back in that kind of mood, but I do see it; I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not... We forget all too soon the things we thought we could never forget. We forget the loves and the betrayals alike, forget what we whispered and what we screamed, forget who we were... It is a good idea, then, to keep in touch, and I suppose that keeping in touch is what notebooks are all about.
Slouching Towards Bethlehem, "On Keeping a Notebook" – Joan Didion
You must know that there is nothing higher, or stronger, or sounder, or more useful afterwards in life, than some good memory, especially a memory from childhood, from the parental home. You hear a lot said about your education, yet some such beautiful sacred memory, especially a memory from childhood, is perhaps the best education. If a man stores up many such memories to take into life, then he is saved for his whole life. And even if only one good memory remains with us in our hearts, that alone may serve some day for our salvation.
The Brothers Karamazov – Fyodor Dostoevsky
... and sought out stories that fascinated me, piecing admirable qualities into a personality distinctly my own.
If I had understood how fast I was running, I wouldn’t have been able to run that fast. Because I didn’t know the track. I didn’t know how long the laps were. I didn’t get scared and shut down my body. I just kept going. To do it, I had to first forget that I couldn’t do it.
The Running Ground – Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic
人类活着的意义、人生的目的到底是什么? 对于这个最根本的疑问，我仍然想直接回答，那就是提高心地，修炼灵魂 ... 今天比昨天更好，明天比今天更好，为此，不屈不挠地工作、勤勤恳恳地经营、孜孜不倦地修炼，我们人生的目的和价值就是这样确确实实地存在着。
What is the meaning of human life? What is the purpose of our existence? To this most fundamental question, I would still answer directly: it is to elevate our hearts and refine our souls.To become better today than we were yesterday, and better tomorrow than we are today. To work with perseverance, live with diligence, and continue cultivating ourselves without cease. It is in this steady pursuit that the purpose and value of our lives truly lie.
活法 – Kazuo Inamori, former chairperson of Japan Airlines
Keep in mind that the cleaning lady is as much a human being as the Chairman. Choose your heroes very carefully and then emulate them. You will never be perfect, but you can always be better.
Final letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders – Warren Buffett
I did learn from Leonardo how a desire to marvel about the world that we encounter each day can make each moment of our lives richer. In addition, he liked to pick people’s brains. He was constantly preparing acquaintances with the type of questions we should all learn to pose more often.
Leonardo da Vinci – Walter Isaason
Currently reading: Shōgun by James Clavell
Podcasts I’ve enjoyed:
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Hardcore History's "Blueprint for Armageddon" series and "Prophets of Doom" – Dan Carlin
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#158 The Case of the Missing Hit – Reply All
Films I've enjoyed:
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Memento (2000) – Christopher Nolan
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Inherit The Wind (1960) – Stanley Kramer
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Good Time (2017)– Safdie Brothers
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My Octopus Teacher (2020) – Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed
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Parasite (2019) – Bong Joon Ho