I have just gone over my comet computations again, and it is humiliating to perceive how very little more I know than I did seven years ago when I first did this kind of work.
Maria MitchellRead
To read a book, to think it over, and to write out notes is a useful exercise; a book which will not repay some hard thought is not worth publishing.
Interpretation
Engaging deeply with a book through reading, reflection, and note-taking is essential for meaningful learning.
Maria Mitchell emphasizes the importance of thoughtful engagement with literature. She suggests that merely reading isn't enough; one should reflect on what is read and take notes, as this process enriches understanding and validates the book's worth. A book that fails to provoke thoughtful analysis doesn't merit publication, as meaningful content should inspire deeper considerations from its readers.
In practice
In a book club discussion about the importance of engaging with literature.
I have just gone over my comet computations again, and it is humiliating to perceive how very little more I know than I did seven years ago when I first did this kind of work.
The best that can be said of my life so far is that it has been industrious, and the best that can be said of me is that I have not pretended to what I was not.
There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness.
Study as if you were going to live forever; live as if you were going to die tomorrow.
I am just learning to notice the different colors of the stars, and already begin to have a new enjoyment.
We travel to learn; and I have never been in any country where they did not do something better than we do it, think some thoughts better than we think, catch some inspiration from heights above our own.
Every single minute matters, every single child matters, every single childhood matters.
I never saw a useful Christian who was not a student of the Bible. If a man neglects his Bible, he may pray and ask God to use him in His work; but God cannot make much use of him, for there is not much for the Holy Ghost to work upon.
Cultivate the habit of attention and try to gain opportunities to hear wise men and women talk. Indifference and inattention are the two most dangerous monsters that you ever meet. Interest and attention will insure to you an education.
Kids ask me questions. You'd think after doing this for four years, I would have heard every single question anyone could think of to ask, but no, every time, they surprise me, they ask me something I never thought of before.
As an academic, what do you have? You have the quality of your work and the integrity with which you do it.
There's no media training. In cooking school, there's not even manager training. You learn the fundamentals of cooking. Everything else is learning by doing.
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