There are three stages in scientific discovery. First, people deny that it is true, then they deny that it is important; finally they credit the wrong person.
Bill BrysonRead
Coming back to your native land after an absence of many years is a surprisingly unsettling business, a little like waking from a long coma. Time, you discover, has wrought changes that leave you feeling mildly foolish and out of touch.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Returning home after a long time can feel disorienting due to the changes that occur.
This quote highlights the disconcerting experience of returning to one's homeland after many years away. It emphasizes how time can alter the familiar landscape, leading to feelings of alienation and a sense of disconnect, as if one has emerged from a long sleep, out of step with the developments that have taken place in their absence.
Themes
HomecomingChangeDisorientationTimeAlienation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about personal growth and the impact of time.
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Those who sniff decay in every shift of sense or alteration of usage do the language no service. Too often for such people the notion of good English has less to do with expressing ideas clearly than with making words conform to some arbitrary pattern.
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