“‘I want to go on being a student,’ I told him. ‘I want to be a teacher. I’m just a reader,’ I said. ‘DON’T SOUND SO ASHAMED,’ he said. ‘READING IS A GIFT.’ ‘I learned it from you,’ I told him. ‘IT DOESN’T MATTER WHERE YOU LEARNED IT––IT’S A GIFT. IF YOU CARE ABOUT SOMETHING, […]
“What could Marilyn Monroe’s death ever have to do with me? ‘IT HAS TO DO WITH ALL OF US,’ said Owen Meany, when I called him that night. ‘SHE WAS JUST LIKE OUR WHOLE COUNTRY––NOT QUITE YOUNG ANYMORE, BUT NOT OLD EITHER; A LITTLE BREATHLESS, VERY BEAUTIFUL, MAYBE A LITTLE STUPID, MAYBE A LOT SMARTER […]
As an amateur neuroscience enthusiast, I’m obligated not only to seek out the best and most recent neuroscientific findings, but also to be wary of how these findings might be abused. Any scientific discipline that can be easily monetized and/or misinterpreted by the popular media will spawn its share of hacks, prophets, and snake oil […]
“Newspapers are a bad habit, the reading equivalent of junk food. What happens to me is that I seize upon an issue in the news––the issue is the moral/philosophical, political/intellectual equivalent of a cheeseburger with everything on it; but for the duration of my interest in it, all my other interests are consumed by it, […]
“‘I can’t read Tess of the d’Urbervilles!’ I cried. ‘It’s too hard!’ ‘YOU MEAN IT’S HARD TO MAKE YOURSELF READ IT, YOU MEAN IT’S HARD HARD TO MAKE YOURSELF PAY ATTENTION,’ he said. ‘BUT IT’S NOT TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES THAT’S HARD. THOMAS HARDY MAY BORE YOU BUT HE’S VERY EASY TO UNDERSTAND––HE’S OBVIOUS, HE […]
“Grandmother was rigorous and unswerving. It was her belief in the value of effort itself that prevented her from buying a television set. She was a passionate reader, and she thought that reading was one of the noblest efforts of all; in contrast, she found writing to be a great waste of time––a childish self-indulgence, […]
“‘Every American should be forced to live outside the United States for a year or two. Americans should be forced to see how ridiculous they appear to the rest of the world! They should listen to someone else’s version of themselves––to anyone else’s version! Every country knows more about America than Americans know about themselves! […]
“Owen didn’t believe in coincidences. Owen Meany believed that ‘coincidence’ was a stupid, shallow refuge sought by stupid, shallow people who were unable to accept the fact that their lives were shaped by a terrifying and awesome design.” ––A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving, pg. 186
I’ve flirted with the idea of taking up meditation for a few years now, and thought this book would be a good introduction given my interest in neuroscience. James H. Austin’s Meditating Selflessly: Practical Neural Zen is a sincere but mediocre explication of Zen meditative practice as interpreted by modern brain science. Austin’s treatment is highly […]
“It’s a no-win argument––that business of what we’re born with and what our environment does to us. And it’s a boring argument, because it simplifies the mysteries that attend both our birth and our growth.” ––A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving, pg. 57 “One common misunderstanding is that happiness always means success, […]