Humanity
Doors of Perception
When the doors of perception are cleansed, man will see things as they truly are, infinite.
— William Blake
'Stupid' Questions
So one should be unafraid to ask “stupid” questions, challenging conventional wisdom on a subject; the answers to these questions will occasionally lead to a surprising conclusion, but more often will simply tell you why the conventional wisdom is there in the first place, which is well worth knowing.
— Terry Tao
Against Scientism
Regardless of your scientific theory, scientism destroys human knowledge and makes you stupid. Regardless of your political ideology, political scientism destroys human life and makes you dangerous.
— Robin Koerner
Democracy
Without science, democracy has no future.
— Maxim Gorky
Let the Past Go
To survive,
Know the past.
Let it touch you.
Then let
The past
Go.
— From “Earthseed: The Books of the Living,” Parable of the Talents, Octavia E. Butler
Science is Precious
One thing I have learned in a long life: that all our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike—and yet it is the most precious thing we have.
— Albert Einstein
Some Poets Don't Understand Science
Poets say science takes away from the beauty of the stars—mere globs of gas atoms. I too can see the stars on a desert night, and feel them. But do I see less or more? The vastness of the heavens stretches my imagination—stuck on this carousel my little eye can catch one-million-year-old light. A vast pattern—of which I am a part…
What is the pattern, or the meaning, or the why?
... Read more …
Tyranny
If you really want to live in a world without tyranny, spend less time trying to show others why you are right and more time trying to show yourself why you are wrong.
— Robin Koerner
Tyranny and Epistemology
Tyranny is not the result of a belief in a bad political theory; it is the result of a bad belief in a political theory – and that is an entirely different thing. To understand tyranny, then, we need to think a bit less about politics and a bit more about epistemology.
— Robin Koerner
See: https://www.robinkoerner.com/post/political-scientism-beware-the-enlightened-ones
The World Is My Country
The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.
— Thomas Paine