We are living in a computer-programmed reality, and the only clue we have to it is when some variable is changed, and some alteration in reality occurs. We have the overwhelming impression that we were reliving the present - deja vu.
I dreamed: I am the fish whose flesh is eaten, and because I am fat, it is good.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the complexity of self-perception and sacrifice, suggesting that one's perceived flaws can also be seen as advantages.
In this quote, Philip K. Dick explores the duality of the human experience through the metaphor of a fish whose fat is consumed. It highlights how from one perspective, being seen as desirable or valuable can lead to exploitation, yet from another perspective, this same quality can be viewed as a source of contentment or worth. It invites the reader to consider how our traits and vulnerabilities can be interpreted in contrasting ways based on individual experiences and societal perspectives.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational talk about self-acceptance, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of embracing one's flaws.
More from Philip K. Dick
All quotes βDon't try to solve serious matters in the middle of the night.
On some other world, possibly it is different. Better. There are clear good and evil alternatives. Not these obscure admixtures, these blends, with no proper tool by which to untangle the components.
"Do you have information that there's an android in the cast? I'd be glad to help you, and if I were an android would I be glad to help you?" "An android," he said, "doesn't care what happens to another android. That's one of the indications we look for." "Then," Miss Luft said, "you must be an android."
The universe is information and we are stationary in it, not three dimensional and not in space or time.
A man is an angel that has gone deranged.
Similar quotes
We seek true individuality and the true individuals. But we find them not. For lo, we mortals see what our poor eyes can see; and they, the true individuals, - they belong not to this world of our merely human sense and thought.
Why should it be illegal to sell something that's perfectly legal to give away?
When he found that the administrators were upset, he laughed. βDo they expect students not to be anarchists?β he said. βWhat else can the young be? When you are on the bottom, you must organize from the bottom up
And inasmuch as feeling, the East's gift, Is quick and transient,- comes, and lo! is gone, While Northern thought is slow and durable.
He that Opposes his own Judgment against the Current of the Times, ought to be back'd with unanswerable Truths; and he that has that Truth on his Side, is a Fool, as well as a Coward, if he is afraid to own it, because of the Currency or Multitude of other Mens Opinions.
We (Muslims) have no right, in our present misery, to boast of past glories. But we must realise that it was the negligence of the Muslims - and not any deficiency in the teachings of Islam - that caused our present decay.