It is a profoundly erroneous truism, repeated by all copy-books and
by eminent people when they are making speeches, that we should cultivate
the habit of thinking about what we are doing. The precise opposite is the
case. Civilization advances by extending the numbers of important operations
which we can perform without thinking about them. Operations of thought are
like cavalry charges in battle -- they are strictly limited in number, they
require fresh horses, and must only be made at decisive moments.
-- Alfred North Whitehead
by eminent people when they are making speeches, that we should cultivate
the habit of thinking about what we are doing. The precise opposite is the
case. Civilization advances by extending the numbers of important operations
which we can perform without thinking about them. Operations of thought are
like cavalry charges in battle -- they are strictly limited in number, they
require fresh horses, and must only be made at decisive moments.
-- Alfred North Whitehead
Related:
- Civilization advances by extending the number of important
operations which we can perform without thinking.
Alfred North... - Civilization Law #1:
Civilization advances by extending the number of important... - Civilization advances by extending the number of important
operations one can do without thinking about them... - The major advances in civilization are processes
that all but wreck the societies in which they occur.
Alfred North... - It is especially important to encourage unorthodox thinking when the
situation is critical:
At such moments every new word and fresh thought is... - saga n.
[WPI] A cuspy but bogus raving story about N
random broken people.
Here is a classic example of the saga form, as told... - We think in generalities, we live in detail.
--
Alfred North... - There is no choice before us. Either we must Succeed in providing
the rational coordination of impulses and guts,
or for centuries civilization will sink into a mere... - There is no choice before us. Either we must Succeed in providing
the rational coordination of impulses and guts,
or for centuries civilization will sink into a mere...
From the same category:
- C:\> erase c:\reality.sys;
copy a:\pern\*.* c... - May your life be
sublime... - Once is happenstance,
Twice is coincidence,
Three times is enemy action.
Auric... - And on the seventh day, God said,
"It's Miller time... - But my little voice TOLD me to
do it...
