Mastodawn

   “Life,” he said, “is like a grapefruit.”
   “Er, how so?”
   “Well, it’s sort of orangey-yellow and dimpled on the outside, wet and squidgy in the middle. It’s got pips inside, too. Oh, and some people have half a one for breakfast.”

Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Hitchhiker’s Guide No. 4, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, ch. 23 (1984)

More about this quote: wist.info/adams-douglas/82816/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #douglasadams #hitchhikersguide #hitchhikersguidetothegalaxy #solongandthanksforallthefish #grapefruit #life #meaningoflife #metaphor

Adams, Douglas - Hitchhiker's Guide No. 4, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, ch. 23 (1984) | WIST Quotations

"Life," he said, "is like a grapefruit." "Er, how so?" "Well, it's sort of orangey-yellow and dimpled on the outside, wet and squidgy in the middle. It's got pips inside, too. Oh, and some people have half a one for breakfast." Ford Prefect speaking with a creature in his dreams.

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WIST Quotations Mar 11

A quotation from Marcus Aurelius

There is a doom inexorable and a law inviolable, or there is a providence that can be merciful, or else there is a chaos that is purposeless and ungoverned. If a resistless fate, why try to struggle against it? If a providence willing to show mercy, do your best to deserve its divine succour. If a chaos undirected, give thanks that amid such stormy seas you have within you a mind at the helm.

[Ἤτοι ἀνάγκη εἱμαρμένης καὶ ἀπαράβατος τάξις ἢ πρόνοια ἱλάσιμος ἢ φυρμὸς εἰκαιότητος ἀπροστάτητος. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἀπαράβατος ἀνάγκη, τί ἀντιτείνεις; εἰ δὲ πρόνοια ἐπιδεχομένη τὸ ἱλάσκεσθαι, ἄξιον σαυτὸν ποίησον τῆς ἐκ τοῦ θείου βοηθείας. εἰ δὲ φυρμὸς ἀνηγεμόνευτος, ἀσμένιζε ὅτι ἐν τοιούτῳ κλύδωνι αὐτὸς ἔχεις ἐν σαυτῷ τινα νοῦν ἡγεμονικόν.]

Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) Roman emperor (161-180), Stoic philosopher
Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 12, ch. 14 (12.14) (AD 161-180) [tr. Staniforth (1964)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/marcus-aureleus/2068…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #marcusaurelius #marcusaureliusmeditations #adaptability #chaos #destiny #doom #fate #getalong #God #inevitability #intelligence #meaningoflife #mind #order #prayer #predestination #providence #selfcontrol #universe #world #worthiness

Marcus Aurelius - Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 12, ch. 14 (12.14) (AD 161-180) [tr. Staniforth (1964)] | WIST Quotations

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WIST Quotations Mar 10

A quotation from Eleanor Roosevelt

And the important thing was that you never let down doing the best that you were able to do — it might be poor because you might not have very much within you to give, or to help other people with, or to live your life with. But as long as you did the very best that you were able to do, then that was what you were put here to do and that was what you were accomplishing by being here.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) First Lady of the US (1933–1945), politician, diplomat, activist
Essay (1951-12), “This I Believe: Growth that Starts from Thinking,” on Edward R. Murrow, This I Believe, CBS Radio

More about this quote: wist.info/roosevelt-eleanor/82…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #eleanorroosevelt #attempt #beyourbest #besteffort #doyourbest #effort #excellence #hardwork #meaningoflife #purpose

Roosevelt, Eleanor - Essay (1951-12), "This I Believe: Growth that Starts from Thinking," on Edward R. Murrow, This I Believe, CBS Radio | WIST Quotations

And the important thing was that you never let down doing the best that you were able to do -- it might be poor because you might not have very much within you to give, or to help other people with, or to live your life with. But as long…

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N-gated Hacker News Mar 9

🥱 Ah yes, another blog where Mike Woodward attempts to juggle #AI, #data, and the meaning of life—all while reminiscing over a sci-fi book he once read. 🚀 Spoiler alert: He covers *everything* and *nothing* with the enthusiasm of a damp sponge. 📚
https://blog.engora.com/2026/03/rendezvous-with-rama.html #MeaningOfLife #BlogContent #SciFi #HackerNews #ngated

Rendezvous with Rama

Some musings on the novel "Rendezvous with Rama".

WIST Quotations Mar 6

A quotation from Rilke

The longer I live, the more urgent it seems to me to endure and transcribe the whole dictation of existence up to its end, for it might just be the case that only the very last sentence contains that small and possibly inconspicuous word through which everything we had struggled to learn and everything we had failed to understand will be transformed suddenly into magnificent sense.

Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1963) German poet
Letter (1913-12-21) to Ilse Erdman [tr. Baer (2005)]

More about this quote: wist.info/rilke-rainer-maria/8…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #RainerMariaRilke #experience #life #lifespan #living #meaningoflife #understanding #mortality #death

WIST Quotations Mar 6

A quotation from Thomas Carlyle

For the Scepticism, as I said, is not intellectual only; it is moral also; a chronic atrophy and disease of the whole soul. A man lives by believing something; not by debating and arguing about many things.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
Lecture (1840-05-19), “The Hero as Man of Letters,” Home House, Portman Square, London

More about this quote: wist.info/carlyle-thomas/82548…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #thomascarlyle #belief #commitment #dedication #meaningoflife #motivation #passion #skepticism

Carlyle, Thomas - Lecture (1840-05-19), "The Hero as Man of Letters," Home House, Portman Square, London | WIST Quotations

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WIST Quotations Mar 4

A quotation from Eleanor Roosevelt

Perhaps that’s what we all had to do — think out for ourselves what we could believe and how we could live by it. And so I came to the conclusion that you had to use this life to develop the very best that you could develop.

More about this quote: wist.info/roosevelt-eleanor/82…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #eleanorroosevelt #belief #beliefsystem #besteffort #doyourbest #excellence #goodbehavior #meaningoflife #moralcode #personalcode #selfactualization #selfchallenging #selfcorrection #selfdevleopment #selfexamination #selfimprovement #selfquestioning #selfrespect

Roosevelt, Eleanor - Essay (1951-12), "This I Believe: Growth that Starts from Thinking," on Edward R. Murrow, This I Believe, CBS Radio | WIST Quotations

Perhaps that’s what we all had to do -- think out for ourselves what we could believe and how we could live by it. And so I came to the conclusion that you had to use this life to develop the very best that you could develop. (Source (Audio); start…

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