things worth paying attention to
True story. “‘When on board the ship,’ said Edison, as we sat down to déjeuner on the terrace of the Eiffel Tower, première étage, ‘they put rolls and coffee on the table for breakfast. I thought that that was a very poor breakfast for a man to do any work upon. But I suppose one gets used to it. I would like one American meal for a change — plenty of pie for a change.’ He then smashed the roll with his fist.”
Read free. “This volume has been written primarily as a text for secondary schools of agriculture, and for colleges where only a general course can be offered. Claim is not made for much new material concerning the subjects discussed; but rather an attempt has been made to place under one cover a general discussion of agricultural engineering subjects, which hitherto could not be secured except in several volumes and hence impractical for text-book purposes.”
Smart saying. It is difficult not to write satire. —Juvenal
Read free. “First and last, public speaking is a practical art, a means, not an end. It is a purposive activity, not a mere vehicle for the exhibition of skill. The only excuse for studying the art is that we may fashion a tool that will help us turn a vision into a reality. But if we are to make it a useful tool, we must always speak with a definite purpose in mind. No speaker ever attained his goal without subordinating his art to his subject.”
Smart saying. If you possessed the rarest of elements, the most precious gem, how would you treat it? And what if you knew it was you? Never again, until the end of time, will God see through your eyes. I invite you to come to terms with this truth and live accordingly. —Shahar Rabi
Read free. “It is almost universally conceded that each one carries a certain atmosphere that may be felt by all who come in contact with him; but how that atmosphere is formed and held by each individual is an open question…. That the proposition may be clearly understood, it will be best to state it boldly. It is this: Man controls absolutely his own atmosphere.“
Smart saying. You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself. —Alan Watts
Read free. “If one compares any two plants of the same kind ever so closely, it will be found that they differ from each other. The difference is apparent in size, form, color, mode of branching, number of leaves, number of flowers, vigor, season of maturity, and the like; or, in other words, all plants and animals vary from an assumed or standard type. If one compares any two branches or twigs on a tree, it will be found that they differ in size, age, form, vigor, and in other ways.”
Smart saying. This possibility to change reality, which exists in everyone, represents the real freedom of every human individual. He has an enormous possibility to change his world view. —Albert Hofmann
Smart saying. The worst-tempered people I’ve ever met were people who knew they were wrong. —Wilson Mizner
Smart saying. There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root. —Henry David Thoreau
Smart saying. Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves. —Henry David Thoreau
Read free. “There seem to the writer to be four great inferences from modern psychology, and each with suggestions for life and character—that is, with direct suggestion of the conditions of growth, of character, of happiness, and of influence. These four inferences are: Life is complex; man is a unity; will and action are of central importance; and the real is concrete.”
Smart saying. Ninety degrees at four in the morning is not fair. —Rudyard Kipling
Smart saying. A meditative state is pure perception: not being conceptual about the here-and-now. That’s what most zen discipline is about: not past-tripping, not future-tripping, and not being conceptual in the here-and-now. —Stephen Gaskin
Read free. “The idea that the writer has tried to present, simply and practically, is that man’s responses and reactions to life are virtually within his own control; that the quality and number of his responses and reactions determine, to a large degree, his oldness or youngness.”
Smart saying. If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears. —Henry David Thoreau
Read free. “One of this book’s fundamental messages is the value and importance of nearby nature, for children’s play in particular and for human health and well-being in general. Therefore we need to ensure that our human environments allow the natural habitats of children to survive and thrive. Indeed, the very survival of natural spaces in the future may well depend on providing children with opportunities to play naturally today.”
Smart saying. I wish I loved the human race; I wish I loved its silly face; I wish I loved the way it walks; I wish I liked the way it talks; and when I’m introduced to one I wish I thought what jolly fun! —Sir Walter Raleigh
Read free. “Saving the World by Eating Great Food: The good news is that all you have to do to stop participating in the litany of horrors that is industrial agriculture is to eat the most delicious, healthiest food on the planet; the food that was harvested in its prime right before you brought it home and that was raised humanely and safely.”
