## Benjamin Franklin We are not so sensible of the greatest health as of the least sickness. #aphorism #happiness #awareness When the well is dry we know the worth of water. #aphorism #awareness #happiness A good example is the best sermon. #aphorism #leadership Content and riches seldom meet together. #aphorism #happiness #wealth If a man could have half his wishes, he would double his troubles. #aphorism #happiness To whom your secret you tell, to him your freedom you sell. #aphorism #freedom The way to be safe is never to be sure. #aphorism #wisdom ## Aaron Haspel Many books are least likely to be read by the people who would profit most by reading them. #aphorism #paradox #reading No book has ever been too short. #aphorism #reading You may not get the size of audience you deserve, but you always get the kind. #aphorism #work #success Restaurants fail more frequently than gas stations because no one dreams of quitting his corporate job to open a gas station. #aphorism #work #business The most interesting things to do are the dullest to watch. #aphorism #paradox It is when we recognize our hopeless inadequacy at everything else that we discover our vocation. #aphorism #career #via_negativa The more you know how things work, the less you expect them to. #aphorism #paradox #knowledge The less you are contradicted, the stupider you become. The more powerful you become, the less you are contradicted. #aphorism #knowledge #debate To regard oneself as the exception is the rule. #aphorism #self We wish, not to be understood, but to be misunderstood exactly as we misunderstand ourselves. #aphorism #socializing #self What you lose with age is not so much capacity as the illusion that you ever had them. #aphorism #age #skill Our awareness of what we deserve, but lack, is surpassed only by our blindness to what we have, but do not deserve. #aphorism #awareness Belief in karma is the coward's revenge. #aphorism #fool Most of the great art ever produced has been destroyed, forgotten, or unrecognized. #aphorism #work #awareness Today we hear silence as our ancestors heard music. #aphorism #silence To get on with children, treat them like adults; to get on with adults, treat them like children. #aphorism #paradox #socializing We all suffer from a variety of psychiatric disorders, which used to be known as personality. #aphorism #modernity #human_nature There is a level of fame where it is no longer necessary to be interesting, and a higher level where it is no longer possible. #aphorism #fame ## Franz Kafka Dealings with people bring about self-scrutiny. #aphorism #self #socializing In the struggle between yourself and the world, hold the world's coat. #aphorism #self #socializing The disproportion of the world seems fortunately to be merely numerical. #aphorism #reality #reason #knowledge ## Gregorio Luri Ninguna persona débil es buena por el mero hecho de ser débil. #aphorism #ethics En el diálogo, más que la verdad suele pesar la necesidad de guarecer la propia imagen. #aphorism #socializing Lo que hay que pedirle a un diálogo honesto no es que nos ponga de acuerdo, sino que ilumine nuestras diferencias. #aphorism #truth El que pretende librarse de la tradición para caminar más liviano es como el tullido que arroja sus muletas para librarse de su invalidez. #aphorism #past ## Heraclitus Just as the river where I step is not the same, and is, so I am as I am not. #aphorism #change What was cold soon warms, and warmth soon cools. So moisture dries, and dry things drown. #aphorism #cycle From the strain of binding opposites comes harmony. #aphorism #equilibrium The cosmos works by harmony of tensions, like the lyre and bow. Therefore, good and ill are one. #aphorism #equilibrium Applicants for wisdom do what I have done: inquire within. #aphorism #self Always having what we want may not be the best good fortune. Health seems sweetest after sickness, food in hunger, goodness in the wake of evil, and at the end of daylong labor sleep. #aphorism #happiness ## José Saramago É bem verdade que nem a juventude sabe o que pode, nem a velhice pode o que sabe. #aphorism #age Tudo no mundo está dando respostas, o que demora é o tempo das perguntas. #aphorism #life Há razões, se as procurarmos encontramo-las sempre, razões para explicar qualqer coisa nunca faltaram, mesmo não sendo as certas. #aphorism #knowledge Quem mais ordena não é quem mais pode, quem mais pode não é quem mais parece. #aphorism #success As verdades são muitas, enquanto não lutarem não se saberá onde está a mentira. #aphorism #truth ## Ludwig Wittgenstein It is tempting to say: 'Naturally, it had to happen that way'. While one should think: 'That and many other ways could it have happened.' #aphorism #uncertainty What you take as a present is a problem you must solve. #aphorism #socializing When you give a present and boast about it, you condemn both what you gave and yourself. #aphorism #socializing When you get ready for an eventuality, you can be sure it will not happen. #aphorism #uncertainty ## Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing; a confusion of the real with the ideal never goes unpunished. #aphorism #love #marriage The person engaged in action is always unconscionable; no one except the contemplative has a conscience. #aphorism #awareness No one is more a slave than the one who thinks he is free without being free. #aphorism #freedom A person has only to say he is free and he immediately feels constrained. If he has the courage to say he is constrained, then he feels free. #aphorism #freedom We are never further away from our desires than when we imagine we possess what we desire. #aphorism #happiness #desire Writting up history is one way of getting rid of the past. #aphorism #history The more unselfish a man is, the more he is... subordinated to those who are selfish. #aphorism #human_nature #selfish The senses don't deceive; judgement deceives. #aphorism #knowledge You really only know when you know little; doubt grows with knowledge. #aphorism #knowledge Fools and intelligent people are equally undamaging. Half-fools and half-sages, these are the most dangerous of all. #aphorism #fool #wisdom We can only save time by spending it. #aphorism #paradox A person who doesn't rate himself too highly is worth much more than he imagines. #aphorism #self People hear what they understand #aphorism #socializing When you praise someone, you are putting yourself on a par with him. #aphorism #socializing You ask which form of government is the best? Whichever teaches us to govern ourselves. #aphorism #freedom Difficulties increase the nearer we get to the goal. #aphorism #success ## Fernando Pessoa El tiempo despacha deprisa a quien lo despacha a prisa. #aphorism #time Si algún día alguien dejase de encontrarme ridículo, yo entristecería al conocerme, por esa señal objetiva, en decadencia mortal. #aphorism #self Es tanta la decadencia que ya ni decadentes hay. #aphorism #society El hombre perfecto del pagano era la perfección del hombre existente; el hombre perfecto del cristiano es la perfección del hombre que no existe; el hombre perfecto del budista es la perfección de no existir el hombre. #aphorism #religion #ethics #virtue #humanism ## Antonio Machado Sólo triunfa quien pone la vela donde sopla el aire; jamás quien pretende que sople el aire donde pone la vela. #aphorism #success ## Juan Ramón Jiménez La tristeza ideal unida a la fuerza corporal da motivo a la melancolía; la tristeza ideal unida a la debilidad da motivo a la desesperación. Wisdom La vida nunca da lo que se espera. Ahora bien: unos se conforman y otros no. A esta conformidad suele llamarse felicidad. Acceptance Nada llega después, ni antes. Acceptance La juventud debe revolucionar, gritar; la madurez, señalar, criticar. Age Si quieres llegar a viejo, sé siempre joven. Age Biombos y espejos. La vida. Awareness Que inconciencia y conciencia salgan de igual profundidad a nuestro ser. Awareness No es lo mismo ver el sol desde la sombra que el sol desde el sol. Awareness Hay que equilibrar la tristeza de algunos sueños perdidos con la alegría de algún trabajo realizado. Awareness Me resigno, sé que donde quiera que esté, soñaré siempre con un viaje a lo lejano. Awareness Lo vivo, cuanto más lejano, más vivo; lo muerto, cuanto más reciente, más muerto. Awareness Cuando estéis trabajando en una cosa y se os vaya la ilusión a otra, pensar que ésta en que trabajáis sería vuestra ilusión si estuviérais con la ilusionada. Awareness En el hombre hay siempre una tendencia a lo ideal, a lo que está fuera del momento, aun en lo cotidiano. Awareness Los que dicen que no creen en la forma son los mismos que por su torpeza hacen pensar más en ella. Beauty Soy amigo de la síntesis. Por eso prefiero la rosa a la rosaleda, el ruiseñor a la ruiseñorera, el aforismo a la monserga ensayística, la lírica a la épica. Brevity Ser breve, en arte, es, ante todo, suprema moralidad. Brevity Ladra el perro a su sombra y le responde su eco. Complexity Todo es siempre menos. Enough De lo distante, lo necesario; de lo cercano, lo suficiente. Enough La forma material de la rosa acabaría si no fuese por la forma de su esencia. Evolution La razón de mi falta de gusto en la vida corriente está en que no me importa el goce en sí sino la perpetuidad del goce posible. Y como el goce no puede ser eterno lo cambio por perpetuidades más verdaderas. Happiness Si queremos ser felices, no vayamos tras lo que se va, quedémonos con lo que se queda. Happiness Donde quiera que la gente se esté riendo, tened la seguridad de que hay algo que llorar. Happiness Todos los éxtasis dinámicos (amor, poesía,…) son esencialmente leves y sólo pueden prolongarse por medios artificiales. Su eternidad, su eficacia, está en su brevedad, su intensa, infinita brevedad. Happiness Es tal la confusión de mi ideal que ya no sé lo que debo pedirle al destino. Impermanence Qué inmenso trabajo para creerse fijo en un mundo en movimiento! Impermanence Dejémosle, sin avaricia, la ilusión del día de ayer, como una flor o una joya, a su cadáver, nuestro cadáver del día de ayer. Impermanence Con los demás hablad solo de cosas indiferentes; lo trascendental resolvedlo a solas con vosotros. Isolation El verdadero talento es asceta, como la verdadera virtud; se nutre de la soledad y del silencio. Isolation Detesto y me parece cosa de tontos eso de las primeras ediciones. A mí las que me interesan son las últimas, las definitivas. Knowledge El consejo no puede tomarlo sino el que tiene la experiencia necesaria para ello; de modo que los únicos consejos útiles serían los que diera la juventud a la vejez. Learning Los discípulos serán siempre otros que los que uno conoce. Legacy Las cosas, todas las cosas bellas y feas, prácticas e inútiles, malas o graciosas, desde la flor a la rueda, aman a quien las ama. Love Vivo el recuerdo de una vida que no he vivido y la esperanza de una vida que no he de vivir. Memory El olvido no nos sustrae las cosas, nos las contiene. Memory La memoria es hija del ruido; el olvido, hijo del silencio. Memory La bondad suele nacer del remordimiento. Opposites No hay modo mejor de llegar a la perfección que pasar por lo imperfecto. Opposites Era casi perfecta. Su mayor encanto estaba en el casi. Perfection Lo que te perfecciona te mata; la perfección es veneno, sin ningún género de duda. Perfection La perfección es la espontaneidad del espíritu cultivado. Perfection La perfección sale de la raíz misma de lo subconsciente bien alimentado, y un poco al azar, como la flor. Perfection Es inútil trazarse una senda; el pensamiento es flor del día. Uncertainty Clarividente: sentimiento destilado por la conciencia. Iluminado: Pensamiento pasado por el corazón. Reason La inteligencia no sirve para guiar al instinto, sino para comprenderlo. Reason Orden en lo exterior, inquietud en el espíritu. Self-Knowledge Para ser uno infinito no hay más que perderse en nuestro propio mar. Y este es más dulce naufragio que el del otro mar alto. Self-Knowledge Para desordenarme por dentro tengo que ordenarme por fuera. Self-Knowledge El convencimiento que uno tenga de sí mismo y de su obra debe ser tal que la crítica ajena, por excesiva que sea en cualquier sentido, afirmativo o negativo, no le ponga ni le quite. Self-Knowledge Cuanto más leo a los otros mejor comprendo lo que yo soy. Self-Knowledge La crítica me importa tan poco, como a la naturaleza deben importarle las leyes que le hacen un físico o un químico. Self-Knowledge Como no es posible dar gusto a todo el mundo, optemos por lo más difícil: dárnoslo a nosotros mismos. Self-Knowledge Desconfiad de vosotros cuando comencéis a gustar, cuando el elogio a lo vuestro sea unánime. Self-Knowledge Cuando se pone a la rosa como ejemplo de sencillez, no se suele pensar en los siglos que ha tardado la naturaleza en crearla. Simplicity Tememos más, a veces, que sea verdad una cosa nuestra porque lo diga otro que si la pensamos nosotros mismos. Socializing No siento nunca tristeza mayor que después de haber hablado mucho. Socializing Se piensa más hablando con otros que soñando solo, porque hablando con otros es más honda la necesidad de la persuasión. Socializing Evitemos el visitante que no nos trae idea o sentimiento sino anécdota o historia. Socializing Hay dos clases de personas: las que necesitan guardar su secreto y las que no necesitan guardarlo. Estos viven de su misterio, aquellos contra su misterio. Socializing Mejor callar que hablar; mejor pensar que callar; mejor leer que pensar. Leyendo, el mismo silencio se calla y podemos pensar en compañía. Thinking El deleite mayor de mi vida es coger un pensamiento y llevármelo a un lado del camino a contemplarlo, a devorarlo. Thinking El pasado tiene ese prestigio porque el tiempo borra todo lo cotidiano y deja solo lo ideal. Time Nunca tengo más que un plan: hacer eterno lo inesperado. Uncertainty Nada me gusta tanto como que los demás piensen de otro modo que yo. Sobre todo, que yo piense de otro modo que los demás. Unique El principio de la ciencia es el percatarse de la ignorancia. Así la ciencia antigua se reduce a deplorar el no poder definir, a empezar a darse cuenta. Dejar vacío el cerebro es tan grande como llenarlo de sabiduría. Via Negativa Saber es ir llenando de cajas vacías el desván de la ilusión. Wisdom No es necesario leer todos los libros, ni todo un libro, sino leer de todos los libros. Wisdom Que nadie tome consejo de este libro; lo único que vale es la propia experiencia. Wisdom ¿Qué ofendes y qué defiendes, crítico, espino seco, cardo borriquero, si no eres creador? Work En la creación no puedo tener otra disciplina que la natural. Work Si mi obra se hiciera sola, sin esfuerzo mío, me gustaría bien poco; si la hiciera yo, sin voluntad suya, me gustaría aún menos. Work Un artista no es sino una persona descontenta que trastorna el mundo a su antojo. Work Más que la creación consciente, la crítica eficaz de lo espontáneo. Work Para corregir, volver a la obra de repente, cogerla desnuda en su soledad, por sorpresa. Work Una obra atraerá tanto tiempo cuanto dure su secreto. Work Si se trabaja bien cada día, el día no pasa. Work La palabra debe ser tan justa que se olvide el lector de ella y solo quede la idea; algo así como un río que no hiciera pensar en que lleva agua, sino que es corriente. Writing No se debe escribir en el idioma de las palabras, sino en el de los sentimientos. Writing Quien escribe como se habla, irá más lejos y será más hablado en lo porvenir que quien escribe como se escribe. Writing ## Wu Hsin Only the fool seeks to stop the shaking of the moon's reflection on the water. The acceptance of what cannot be changed paves the way to the changeless. Wu Hsin Acceptance Whereas pain is a physical experience, suffering is a mental one. It is the sense that things should be other than they are. Its antidote is acceptance. Wu Hsin Acceptance In human beings, there is a need to create order out of what is perceived to be chaos. This ordering mechanism is the mind. As such, the mind seeks causes to explain what it doesn't understand. Is the carrot the cause of the chicken soup or is it the chicken? Or is it the broth? Or is it the cook? With the apperception that everything is perfect as it is, that everything causes everything else, the mind, as fixer, as judge, as organizer, loses its relevance. Wu Hsin Acceptance Suppression is a lack of acceptance, an attempt to nullify what is natural. The treatment of symptoms does not cure the disease. Effects vanish when causes are removed, not when they are suppressed. Wu Hsin Acceptance Reject the path, reject the journey, reject the desire to become anything in particular. Reject time itself and become enveloped in what remains. Wu Hsin Acceptance What is called peace by many is merely the absence of disturbance. True peace cannot be disturbed; it resides beyond the reach of disturbance. Wu Hsin Acceptance The preoccupation with the foreground, the sights, the smells, the sounds, takes the attention away from the background. Yet, it is in this very background that the mystery resides. Wu Hsin Awareness Contrary to popular belief, the perceiver and that which is perceived are two ends of the same stick. The absence of one is the absence of both. The absence of everything uncovers the presence of the seed of everything. Wu Hsin Awareness Your sack of concepts compels you to see things in a prescribed manner. Dropping this sack allows your eyes to open and for clarity to manifest. Wu Hsin Awareness Nothing succeeds like failure. Failure is a natural call for attention, like pain. To pay attention is to step out of your trance. Wu Hsin Awareness Your only asset is the presence of awareness. With it, you are everything, without it, what are you? Wu Hsin Awareness The beggar's bowl may be made of pure gold, but if the beggar does not know this, then he is a pauper. Wu Hsin Awareness What is realization? Realization is the understanding that there is nothing to be realized. Nothing else. Wu Hsin Awareness Those with wakefulness have lost everything. Therefore, they have nothing left to lose. They are fearless in the face of whatever appears. Wu Hsin Awareness When here becomes everywhere and now becomes always, then one has succeeded. Wu Hsin Awareness The man of contentment seeks nothing that he doesn't have and understands that whatever he has isn't his to own. Wu Hsin Enough Chasing after more and more is futile. It is only less and less that lastingly satisfies. Wu Hsin Enough Expectation is the grandfather of disappointment. The world can never own a man who wants nothing. Wu Hsin Enough The greatest wealth is contentment. The greatest peace is attained through the abandonment of desires. Wu Hsin Enough Man can do whatever he wants. However, he cannot will whatever he wants. Wu Hsin Freedom A free man's life is a life that is free of demands, free of dependency. With nothing to drag along one goes where one will. Wu Hsin Freedom The attachment to belief is the greatest shackle. To be free is to know that one does not know. Wu Hsin Freedom The greatest enjoyment is experienced when there is no concern for its duration. Wu Hsin Happiness Desire is the urge to be happy. Desirelessness is the fruit of the recognition of inherent happiness. Wu Hsin Happiness To be free of the obsession with the future, with the preoccupation of what to do next, is most well regarded by those that others label as lazy. Even if it were so, it would be the highest form of laziness. Wu Hsin Idleness In order for this world to be known, the knower must precede it. Wu Hsin Knowledge When the mind feasts, true knowledge is lost. When the mind eats not, true knowledge manifests. Wu Hsin Knowledge The loss of habitual certainties is the gain of clear vision. The common man looks at things, uncommon man sees through them. Wu Hsin Knowledge Utilizing the mind in the attempt to achieve ultimate understanding is akin to hiring a thief to protect a house from burglars. Wu Hsin Knowledge Don't seek how your questions may be answered. Seek that your answers may be questioned. Wu Hsin Learning Beginning and end are not two, but equal aspects of one. The fruit contains the seed, which contains the fruit. Wu Hsin Life & Death You are a microcosm of the cosmos. Your body is comprised of all the elements of the world. The cosmos has donated itself to make you. The day will come when she requests a refund. Grant it smilingly. Wu Hsin Life & Death No mountain has only one side. At times, it is sunny on one side and raining on the other. The side that has seen the sun will experience the rain. Wu Hsin Life & Death How glorious is the purposeless life. Events occur in their natural course and one need not do anything or be anything in particular. Can there be a greater freedom than this? Wu Hsin Purpose Life is its own purpose. There is nothing that needs to be done and there is no one to do it. Wu Hsin Purpose Seeing clearly is an impersonal event, occurring in the absence of one intending to see clearly. In fact, it is the one intending to see clearly that is the very impediment to seeing clearly. Wu Hsin Self The temples and monasteries cannot hide you when you are running away from yourself. There is no sanctuary other than to dive inward and investigate who is running away from what. Wu Hsin Self The central problem is not that you think too highly of yourself, nor is it that you think too lowly of yourself. Instead, it is that you think constantly of yourself. Wu Hsin Self True freedom is freedom from "my". Wu Hsin Self In the absence of identification with any thing, who are you? Or better, what are you? Wu Hsin Self There is no forest, there is no cave, there is no mountaintop where one can hide from oneself. Wu Hsin Self How can light find darkness? Darkness is merely the absence of light. How can one find one's source? One's source is revealed in the absence of one's self. Wu Hsin Self Man is not possessed by a separate self. He is merely possessed by his belief in one. Wu Hsin Self To know that one is, is natural. To know what one is requires a diving into the depths of one's own being. The pearl rests on the bottom. Wu Hsin Self-Knowledge What one really is is what one is in the absence of the who that one thinks one is. Wu Hsin Self-Knowledge All doing is contained in being. When the attention is shifted from doing to being, the doing takes care of itself without any intended doing and in the absence of a doer. Wu Hsin Self-Knowledge What does the orange tree have to do to grow oranges? What does the sky have to do to be blue? What do you have to do to be? Wu Hsin Self-Knowledge Look deeply inside yourself and try to find yourself. The ensuing failure is the true finding. Wu Hsin Self-Knowledge The greatest crime is the overlooking of who you really are in favor of the story of who you think you are. This preoccupation with your personal drama is the cloud that masks the sun. Wu Hsin Self-Knowledge A comfortable bed does not lessen the discomfort of a nightmare. Wu Hsin Self-Knowledge Madness is little more than the searching outside for what can only be found within. To change the face in the mirror, one doesn't change the mirror. Wu Hsin Self-Knowledge In order to achieve understanding, one's focus need be less on what one is and more on what one is not. When the clouds all disappear, the sun is revealed in its full splendor. Wu Hsin Self-Knowledge What problems can there be that the mind did not create? The solution to problems begins with the cessation in believing in the content of one's thoughts. Wu Hsin Thinking The inherent nature of mind is to process thought. To attempt the cessation of thought goes against what is natural. The goal, therefore, is not the cessation of thought but the cessation of identification with thought. Wu Hsin Thinking Thoughts intrude, like unwelcome guests at a party. Ignored and unfed, they depart. Wu Hsin Thinking From the point of view of the person, problems never cease. From the point of view of the totality, problems never arise. Perfection is disturbed by the arrival of judgment. Wu Hsin Thinking What is natural requires no study or practice for mastery. Does one study how to sleep? To reach what is natural, merely remove what is not natural. Wu Hsin Via negativa How many of your questions have been answered, but still you don't have the answer? Is it possible that the answer isn't found in more questions? Is it possible the answer isn't found in more concepts? More thoughts? Is it possible that the answer is revealed in their very absence? Wu Hsin Via Negativa What can you really claim to be yours when it can be taken, in the time it takes to snap a finger, by the one who gave it to you? Wu Hsin Wealth Turning the attention toward the unfamiliar and away from the familiar is a prerequisite to the arrival at true understanding. Wu Hsin Wisdom ## Nassim Taleb Decline starts with the replacement of dreams with memories and ends with the replacement of memories with other memories. Nassim Taleb Age It is not possible to have fun when you try. Nassim Taleb Awareness When you see from the outside a quaint village with a seemingly idyllic life, consider that the locals are preoccupied with local intrigues, split into fractious alliances, and entangled into petty disputes. Nassim Taleb Awareness When you are shown a picture of an unspoiled, lush, and picturesque lakeside forest, imagine that, in person, you would be exposed to the summer heat, high humidity, and, mostly, exasperating mosquito bites. Nassim Taleb Awareness Skills that transfer: street fights, off-path hiking, seduction, erudition; skills that don't: school, games, sports, laboratory - what's reduced and organized. Nassim Taleb Change, Variability What they call philosophy I call literature; what they call literature I call journalism; what they call journalism I call gossip; and what they call gossip I call voyeurism. Nassim Taleb Culture An academic cannot lose his tenure, but a business man and risk taker can go bankrupt. That is the infuriating inequality. Nassim Taleb Ethics To bankrupt a fool, give him information. Nassim Taleb Fools If you want to drive a fool to insolvency, lend him or her some money. Nassim Taleb Fools The fool considers that what he doesn't understand is either extremely stupid, or extremely intelligent, pending on how others react to it. Nassim Taleb Fools The best revenge on a liar is to convince him that you believe what he said. Nassim Taleb Fools, Ignorants, Crooks To check if it is a fraud, don't investigate the merchant. Rather, look at the customers. Nassim Taleb Fraud Work destroys your soul by stealthily invading your brain during the hours not officially spent working. Nassim Taleb Freedom You don't become completely free by just avoiding to be a slave; you also need to avoid becoming a master. Nassim Taleb Freedom The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary. Nassim Taleb Freedom The difference between technology and slavery is that slaves are fully aware that they are not free. Nassim Taleb Freedom Life is about early detection of the reversal point beyond which your own belongings (say, a house, car, or business) start owning you. Nassim Taleb Freedom The worst damage has been caused by competent people trying to do good; the best improvements have been brought by incompetent ones not trying to do good. Nassim Taleb Freedom You are free if everything you say in private (about public matters) can be made public. You reach the apex of freedom if everything you think in private (about public matters) can be made public. Nassim Taleb Freedom A genius is someone with flaws harder to imitate than his qualities. Nassim Taleb Genius, Fools, Magnificents The fool views himself as more unique and others more generic; the wise views himself as more generic and others more unique. Nassim Taleb Genius, Fools, Magnificents If you want to make people miserable, pay them (generously and predictably) for their hobbies. Nassim Taleb Happiness I wonder if a lion or a cannibal would pay a high premium for free-range humans. Nassim Taleb Health With terminal disease, nature lets you die with abbreviated suffering; medicine lets you suffer with prolonged dying. Nassim Taleb Health Men destroy each other during war, themselves during peacetime. Nassim Taleb Human Nature Sports feminize men and masculinize women. Nassim Taleb Human Nature Procrastination is the soul rebelling against entrapment. Nassim Taleb Idleness Being unimaginative is only a problem when you are easily bored. Nassim Taleb Idleness The fact that people in countries with cold weather tend to be harder working, richer, less relaxed, less amicable, less tolerant of idleness, overorganized, and more harried than those in hotter climates should make us wonder whether wealth and motivation are indemnification and overcompensation for not having a real life. Nassim Taleb Idleness Only in recent history has working hard signaled pride rather than shame for lack of talent, finesse, and, mostly, sprezzatura. Nassim Taleb Idleness Asking science to explain life and vital matters is equivalent to asking a grammarian to explain poetry. Nassim Taleb Knowledge Under opacity, incomplete information, and partial understanding, much of what we don't understand is labeled as irrational. Nassim Taleb Knowledge In any subject, if you don't think that you don't know enough, you don't know enough. Nassim Taleb Knowledge Studying neurobiology to understand humans is like studying ink to understand literature. Nassim Taleb Knowledge The problem with the idea of learning from one's mistakes is that most of what people call mistakes aren't mistakes. Nassim Taleb Knowledge It takes extraordinary wisdom and self-control to accept that many things have a logic we do not understand that is smarter than our own. Nassim Taleb Knowledge Knowledge is subtractive, not additive - what we subtract (reduction by what does not work, what not to do), not what we add (what to do). Nassim Taleb Knowledge Social science means inventing a certain brand of human we can understand. Nassim Taleb Knowledge Knowing stuff others don't know is most effective when others don't know you know stuff they don't know. Nassim Taleb Knowledge Love without sacrifice is like theft. Nassim Taleb Love Modernity's double punishment is to make us both age prematurely and live longer. Nassim Taleb Modernity The dream of having computers behave like humans is coming true, with the transformation, in a single generation, of humans into computers. Nassim Taleb Modernity Technology can degrade every aspect of a sucker's life while convincing him that it is becoming more efficient. Nassim Taleb Modernity High Modernity: routine in place of physical effort, physical effort in place of mental expenditure, and mental expenditure in place of mental clarity. Nassim Taleb Modernity Modernity replaced process with result and the relational with the transactional. Nassim Taleb Modernity Most modern efficiencies are deferred punishment. Nassim Taleb Modernity The classical man's worst fear was inglorious death; the modern man's worst fear is just death. Nassim Taleb Modernity Social networks present information about what people like; more informative if, instead, they described what they don't like. Nassim Taleb Opposites Social media are severely antisocial, health foods are empirically unhealthy, knowledge workers are very ignorant, and social sciences aren't scientific at all. Nassim Taleb Paradox It is much less dangerous to think like a man of action than to act like a man of thought. Nassim Taleb Reason The rationalist imagines an imbecile-free society; the empiricist an imbecile-proof one, or, even better, a rationalist-proof one. Nassim Taleb Reason If something looks irrational - and has been so for a long time - odds are you have a wrong definition of rationality. Nassim Taleb Reason Unless we manipulate our surroundings, we have as little control over what and whom we think about as we do over the muscles of our heart. Nassim Taleb Reason vs Emotion If you find any reason why you and someone are friends, you are not friends. Nassim Taleb Relationships Marriage is the institutional process of feminizing men - and feminizing women. Nassim Taleb Relationships Religion isn't so much about telling man that there is one God as about preventing man from thinking that he is God. Nassim Taleb Religion Not accounting for what is very unlikely to happen is like pardoning a murderer because most of the time he is a normal person. Nassim Taleb Risk, Uncertainty The person you are the most afraid to contradict is yourself. Nassim Taleb Self-Knowledge Nobody wants to be perfectly transparent; not to others, certainly not to himself. Nassim Taleb Self-Knowledge You have a real life if and only if you do not compete with anyone in any of your pursuits. Nassim Taleb Self-Knowledge You want to be yourself, idiosyncratic;the collective (school, rules, jobs, technology) wants you generic to the point of castration. Nassim Taleb Self-Knowledge People are much less interested in what you are trying to show them than in what you are trying to hide. Nassim Taleb Socializing People don't like it when you ask them for help; they also feel left out when you don't ask them for help. Nassim Taleb Socializing Your reputation is harmed the most by what you say to defend it. Nassim Taleb Socializing They will envy you for your success, for your wealth, for your intelligence, for your looks, for your status - but rarely for your wisdom. Nassim Taleb Socializing Most of what they call humility is successfully disguised arrogance. Nassim Taleb Socializing The most painful moments are not those we spend with uninteresting people; rather, they are those spent with uninteresting people trying hard to be interesting. Nassim Taleb Socializing If someone is making an effort to ignore you, he is not ignoring you. Nassim Taleb Socializing Usually, what we call a good listener is someone with skillfully polished indifference. Nassim Taleb Socializing People reserve standard compliments for those who do not threaten their pride; the others they often praise by calling arrogant. Nassim Taleb Socializing By praising someone for his lack of defects you are also implying his lack of virtues. Nassim Taleb Socializing It is a very powerful manipulation to let others win the small battles. Nassim Taleb Socializing Quite revealing of human preferences that more suicides come from shame or loss of financial and social status than medical diagnoses. Nassim Taleb Socializing If you socialize with someone with a smaller bank account than yours, you are obligated to converse as if you had exactly the same means, eat in the places where he eats, at no point in time show the pictures of your vacaiton in Provence or anything that hints at the differential in means. Nassim Taleb Socializing You can tell how uninteresting a person is by asking him whom he finds interesting. Nassim Taleb Socializing Charm is the ability to insult people without offending them; nerdiness the reverse. Nassim Taleb Socializing In most debates, people seem to be trying to convince one another; but all they can hope for is new arguments to convince themselves. Nassim Taleb Socializing Rumors are only valuable when they are denied. Nassim Taleb Socializing There are two types of people: those who try to win and those who try to win arguments. They are never the same. Nassim Taleb Socializing People usually apologize so they can do it again. Nassim Taleb Socializing People tend to whisper when they say the truth and raise their voice when they lie. Nassim Taleb Socializing It is those who use others who are the most upset when someone uses them. Nassim Taleb Socializing Every social association that is not face-to-face is injurious to your health. Nassim Taleb Socializing Finer men tolerate others' small inconsistencies though not the large ones; the weak tolerate others' large inconsistencies though not small ones. Nassim Taleb Socializing Your silence is only informational if you can speak skillfully. Nassim Taleb Socializing People reveal much more about themselves while lying than when they tell the truth. Nassim Taleb Socializing True humility is when you can surprise yourself more than others; the rest is either shyness or good marketing. Nassim Taleb Socializing You can only convince people who think they can benefit fom being convinced. Nassim Taleb Socializing I trust everyone except those who tell me thet are trustworthy. Nassim Taleb Socializing True generosity is when you help the ingrate. Every other form is self-serving. Nassim Taleb Socializing Trust those who trust you and distrust those who are suspicious of others. Nassim Taleb Socializing It is a sign of weakness to avoid showing signs of weakness. Nassim Taleb Socializing Those who have nothing to prove never say that they have nothing to prove. Nassim Taleb Socializing For company, you often prefer those who find you interesting over those you find interesting. Nassim Taleb Socializing Used skillfully, a compliment will be much more offensive than any disparagement. Nassim Taleb Socializing If you get easily bored, it means that your BS detector is functioning properly; if you forget some things, it means that your mind knows how to filter; and if you feel sadness, it means that you are human. Nassim Taleb Socializing The best way to know people is to find out what they lie about. Nassim Taleb Socializing When you say something you think are just saying something, but you are largely communicating why you had to say it. Nassim Taleb Socializing People are more convincing when they don't seem to care. Nassim Taleb Socializing I wonder whether a bitter enemy would be jealous if he discovered that I hated someone else. Nassim Taleb Socializing, Friends, Enemies, Strangers If you want strangers to help you, smile. For those close to you, cry. Nassim Taleb Socializing, Friends, Enemies, Strangers Don't complain too loud about wrongs done to you; you may give ideas to your less imaginative enemies. Nassim Taleb Socializing, Friends, Enemies, Strangers The ones who refer to you repeatedly as 'my friend' are most likely to betray you. Nassim Taleb Socializing, Friends, Enemies, Strangers You will get the most attention from those who hate you. No friend, admirer, or partner will flatter you with as much curiosity. Nassim Taleb Socializing, Friends, Enemies, Strangers Almost all those caught making a logical fallacty interpret it as a disagreement. Nassim Taleb Socializing, Truth Don't talk about progress in terms of longevity, safety, or comfort before comparing zoo animals to those in the wilderness. Nassim Taleb Success Most mistakes get worse when you try to correct them. Nassim Taleb Success To succeed in life requires a total inability to do anything that makes you uncomfortable when you look at yourself in the mirror. Nassim Taleb Success What we commonly call success (rewards, status, recognition) is a consolation prize for those who are both unhappy and not good at what they do. Nassim Taleb Success My only measure of success is how much time you have to kill. Nassim Taleb Success Contra the prevailing belief, success isn't being on top of a hierarchy, it is standing outside all hierarchies. Nassim Taleb Success The only problem with the last laught is that the winner has to laugh alone. Nassim Taleb Success To be a philosopher is to know by reasoning, a priori, what others can only potentially learn from their mistakes, crises, accidents - that is, a posteriori. Nassim Taleb Thinking Real life (vita beata) is when your choices correspond to your duties. Nassim Taleb Virtue Weak men act to satisfy their needs, stronger men, their duties. Nassim Taleb Virtue A prostitute who sells her body is vastly more honorable than someone who sells his opinion for promotion or job tenure. Nassim Taleb Virtue Virtue is when the income you wish to show the tax agency exceeds what you wish to show your neighbor. Nassim Taleb Virtue Fortune punishes the greedy by making him poor and the very greedy by making him rich. Nassim Taleb Wealth Wealthy is meaningless and has no absolute measure; use instead the subtractive measure unwealth, that is, the difference, at any point in time, between what you have and what you would like to have. Nassim Taleb Wealth The fastest way to become rich is to socialize with the poor; the fastest way to become pooe is to socialize with the rich. Nassim Taleb Wealth You are rich if and only if money you refuse tastes better than money you accept. Nassim Taleb Wealth I fail to see the difference between extreme wealth and overdose. Nassim Taleb Wealth If you like them, wish them financial security; if you dislike them, wish them extreme wealth. Nassim Taleb Wealth An idea starts to be interesting when you get scared of taking it to its logical conclusion. Nassim Taleb Work In science you need to understand the world; in business you need others to misunderstand it. Nassim Taleb Work ## Publius Syrus It is folly to dread what cannot be avoided. Publius Syrus Acceptance Bear without murmuring what cannot be changed. Publius Syrus Acceptance We should bear our destiny, not weep over it. Publius Syrus Acceptance Fortune takes nothing away but her own gifts. Publius Syrus Acceptance To forget the wrongs you received is to remedy them. Publius Syrus Acceptance Life is short, but its ills make it seem long. Publius Syrus Awareness The life which we live is but a small part of the real life. Publius Syrus Awareness What happens to one man may happen to all. Publius Syrus Awareness Even to be hung one should choose a fine tree. Publius Syrus Beauty A rolling stone gathers no moss. Publius Syrus Change Unless a man adds to his glory, he loses what he has. Publius Syrus Change Man's life is a loan, not a gift. Publius Syrus Change Consider nothing which is liable to change a permanent possession. Publius Syrus Change It is an embarrassment to the possessor to have more than he needs. Publius Syrus Enough A life of leisure is a kingdom with less care than a kingdom requires. Publius Syrus Enough Poverty needs little, avarice needs everything. Publius Syrus Enough He can have what he wishes who wishes just enough. Publius Syrus Enough No amount of gain satisfies avarice. Publius Syrus Enough Who has the greatest possessions? He who wants least. Publius Syrus Enough Not to punish offenses, is to encourage depravity. Publius Syrus Ethics He who chases two hares will catch neither. Publius Syrus Focus To do two things at once is to do neither. Publius Syrus Focus Fortune has no more power over our destiny than our own actions. Publius Syrus Freedom I am not your friend unless I share in your fortunes. Publius Syrus Friendship Fear the envy of your friends more than the snares of your enemies. Publius Syrus Friendship Give your friend cause to blush and you will likely lose him. Publius Syrus Friendship Adversity shows whether we have friends, or only the shadows of friends. Publius Syrus Friendship Confidence is the only bond of friendship. Publius Syrus Friendship The friendship that can come to an end never really began. Publius Syrus Friendship The happy man is not he who seems thus to others, but who seems thus to himself. Publius Syrus Happiness The sweetest pleasure arises from difficulties overcome. Publius Syrus Happiness Call yourself happy and you invite the visits of misfortune. Publius Syrus Happiness What matters is how much you have. There is more which you cannot have. Publius Syrus Happiness Pleasant is the remembrance of the ills that are past. Publius Syrus Happiness Repentance of our past deeds is a severe mental punishment. Publius Syrus Happiness Do not find your happiness in another's sorrow. Publius Syrus Happiness That which you thought to run away from will often meet you face to face. Publius Syrus Happiness We desire nothing so much as what we ought not to have. Publius Syrus Happiness That does not always please us which is always within reach. Publius Syrus Happiness Let your life be pleasing to the multitude, and it cannot be so to yourself. Publius Syrus Happiness He who lives only for himself is truly dead to others. Publius Syrus Isolation Mighty rivers may easily be leaped at their source. Publius Syrus Knowledge Better be ignorant of a matter than half know it. Publius Syrus Knowledge The more benefits bestowed, the more received. Publius Syrus Philanthropy I have often regretted my speech, never my silence. Publius Syrus Quiet Either be silent or say something better than silence. Publius Syrus Quiet He gets through too late who goes too fast. Publius Syrus Quiet Nothing can be done at once hastily and prudently. Publius Syrus Quiet He knows not when to be silent who knows not when to speak. Publius Syrus Quiet It matters not what you are thought to be, but what you are. Publius Syrus Self-Knowledge If you are a mariner, let landmen's business alone. Publius Syrus Self-Knowledge Everyone excels in something in which another fails. Publius Syrus Self-Knowledge Consult your conscience, rather than popular opinion. Publius Syrus Self-Knowledge We all seek to know whether we shall be rich; but no one asks whether he shall be good. Publius Syrus Self-Knowledge Keep the golden mean, between saying too much and too little. Publius Syrus Socializing Life and reputation travel with equal pace. Publius Syrus Socializing Do not be too hasty in accusing or approving anyone. Publius Syrus Socializing Would you be known by everybody? Then you know nobody. Publius Syrus Socializing Speak well of your friend in public, admonish him in secret. Publius Syrus Socializing Be the first to laugh at your own blunder, and no one will laugh at you. Publius Syrus Socializing It is robbery to receive a favor which you cannot return. Publius Syrus Socializing To be always giving is to encourage a forcible taking when you refuse to give. Publius Syrus Socializing Pardon one offense, and you encourage the commission of many more. Publius Syrus Socializing When you forgive an enemy you gain many friends. Publius Syrus Socializing The ready apology may be suspected of guilt. Publius Syrus Socializing A flattering discourse carries its own poison. Publius Syrus Socializing Men will judge your past deeds by your last. Publius Syrus Socializing Repeated pardons encourage offenses. Publius Syrus Socializing You will gain your point better by moderation than anger. Publius Syrus Socializing It is pleasant to do a favor for him who does not ask it. Publius Syrus Socializing A small loan makes a debtor; a great one, an enemy. Publius Syrus Socializing The evil you do to others you may expect in return. Publius Syrus Socializing When one man is protected by law, all men are safe. Publius Syrus Society To overthrow law is to destroy our greatest protection. Publius Syrus Society Many receive advice, few profit by it. Publius Syrus Success He is a despicable sage whose wisdom does not profit himself. Publius Syrus Success Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm. Publius Syrus Success When the wise man thinks, he arms himself against the assaults of the whole world. Publius Syrus Thinking It is better to trust virtue than fortune. Publius Syrus Uncertainty Put more confidence in your eyes than your ears Publius Syrus Uncertainty He who guards against calamities rarely meets them. Publius Syrus Uncertainty What we fear comes to pass more speedily than what we hope. Publius Syrus Uncertainty He keeps furthest from danger who looks out while he is safe. Publius Syrus Uncertainty Misfortune sometimes visits him whom she has often passed by. Publius Syrus Uncertainty Neglect a danger and it will some time take you by surprise. Publius Syrus Uncertainty The wise man avoids evil by anticipating it. Publius Syrus Uncertainty Fortune masters us if we do not master her. Publius Syrus Uncertainty Confession of our faults is the next thing to innocence. Publius Syrus Virtue Never forget a favor received, be quick to forget a favor bestowed. Publius Syrus Virtue False modesty is an embarrassment to every virtue. Publius Syrus Virtue A man of courage never endures an insult, an honorable man never offers one. Publius Syrus Virtue He benefits who will not injure when he can. Publius Syrus Virtue Never thrust upon another the burden you cannot carry yourself. Publius Syrus Virtue The greater our good fortune, the more likely to fail us. Publius Syrus Wealth There is the greatest danger in guarding what the multitude covet. Publius Syrus Wealth Money is a servant if you know how to use it; if not, it is a master. Publius Syrus Wealth What has been received can be taken away. Publius Syrus Wealth He who has prospered in life should stay at home. Publius Syrus Wealth Even when we get what we wish, it is not ours. Publius Syrus Wealth The less Fortune has given, the less can she take away. Publius Syrus Wealth The gain acquired at the expense of reputation should be counted a loss. Publius Syrus Wealth A good reputation is a good man's noblest inheritance. Publius Syrus Wealth Our greatest gains are made by sparing what we possess. Publius Syrus Wealth A good reputation is a second patrimony. Publius Syrus Wealth How difficult is to keep the glory acquired. Publius Syrus Wealth It is easier to get a favor from Fortune than to keep it. Publius Syrus Wealth Fortune makes a fool of him whom she favors too much. Publius Syrus Wealth The courage of the soldiers depends upon the wisdom of the general. Publius Syrus Wisdom When you are in love you are not wise; when you are wise you are not in love. Publius Syrus Wisdom It is a less evil to be unable to live than not to know how to live. Publius Syrus Wisdom He who makes shipwreck a second time does wrong to accuse Neptune. Publius Syrus Wisdom He bids fair to grow wise, who has discovered that he is not so. Publius Syrus Wisdom He can best avoid a snare who knows how to set one. Publius Syrus Wisdom He has existed only, not lived, who lacks wisdom in old age. Publius Syrus Wisdom He is truly wise who gains wisdom from another's mishap. Publius Syrus Wisdom The wise man corrects his own errors by observing those of others. Publius Syrus Wisdom The service is twofold greater when it is promptly rendered. Publius Syrus Work A service is well rendered when the receiver can remember it. Publius Syrus Work While we stop to think, we often miss our opportunity. Publius Syrus Work Don't consider how many you can please, but whom. Publius Syrus Work ## Santiago Ramón y Cajal Hay pocos lazos de amistad tan fuertes que no puedan ser cortados por un cabello de mujer. #aphorism #friends #relationships La ciencia de prolongar la vida consiste en no reducirla. #aphorism #health #longevity #via_negativa -Tengo una idea - decía un escritor demasiado reminiscente. -¿De quién? - le atajó un amigo #aphorism #knowledge -Dime lo que lees y adivinaré lo que piensas. -Es que no leo casi nunca #aphorism #reading #knowledge Nada más fácil que diferenciar en el orden político un inglés de un español. El primero cree que su primordial deber es mantener el Estado; mientras que el segundo cree que el Estado debe mantenerle a él. #aphorism #politics ## Enrique García-Máiquez La distancia entre un buen aforismo y uno malo, aunque abismal, es mínima. Como entre el ganador de los 100 metros lisos y el resto. #aphorism #meta_aphorism Escribir con tijeras: leer con pinzas. #aphorism #writing #reading Si aplauden tu inconformismo y tu rebeldía, no eres rebelde ni inconformista. #aphorism #paradox Lo interesante de los que hablan mucho de sí mismos es lo que se callan. #aphorism #awareless #self Cuando uno se arrepiente de haber sido bueno, fue tonto, no bueno. #aphorism #fools Solo podemos hablar con quien podemos estar en silencio. #aphorism #silence #relationships Es el olvido, no el tiempo, el que lo aleja todo. #aphorism #time #forget Se tienen cuarenta años desde los treinta y cinco hasta los sesenta. #aphorism #age Las arrugas son más profundas que las cicatrices. #aphorism #wisdom #age ## Kahlil Gibran Muchas doctrinas son como el cristal de una ventana. Vemos la verdad a través de él, pero nos separa de la verdad. #aphorism #truth La generosidad no consiste en darme lo que necesito más que tú, sino en darme aquello que necesitas más que yo. #aphorism #virtue Si sólo puedes ver lo que la luz revela y oír lo que el sonido anuncia, entonces, verdaderamente, ni ves ni oyes. #aphorism #awareless Me dicen: "Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando". Pero yo digo: "Una pluma vale más volando que ciento en mano". El correr tras esa pluma es la vida con pies alados; es la vida misma. #aphorism #desire #passion #career #work La tortuga puede contar más cosas del camino que la liebre. #aphorism #slow_life Si revelas tu secreto al viento, no deberías culparle por contárselo a los árboles. #aphorism #secret Solamente siento interés por un malabarista cuando, al tratar de coger la bola, falla. #aphorism #paradox ## Joan Fuster La mayoría de edad se alcanza cuando el hijo comienza a sentir compasión por el padre.