Writing can be taken up at any point. But you need to remember that the arts are fundamentally unfair. Hard work and diligence won't necessarily take you all the way. Talent, nepotism, influence, and pure luck play a huge part.
David BrinRead
Human beings are inherently misled into subjective fantasies, but there's a saving grace. We all have different delusions. Other people don't necessarily share yours, and hence they will help you penetrate yours through the miracle of criticism!
Interpretation
What this quote means
Human perceptions are subjective, but receiving criticism from others can help clarify our misconceptions.
This quote by David Brin highlights the idea that while humans naturally fall into subjective ways of thinking and often believe in their own delusions, there is a benefit in our interactions with others. The key point is that others' perspectives can provide critical insights that help us recognize and overcome our own false beliefs. This collective critique can be seen as a form of enlightenment that leads to personal growth and understanding.
Themes
CriticismDelusionSubjectivePerspectiveGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about personal growth, one might quote this to emphasize the importance of seeking feedback.
More from David Brin
All quotes →There's no doubt that scientific training helps many authors to write better science fiction. And yet, several of the very best were English majors who could not parse a differential equation to save their lives.
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Competition, by itself, always leads to cheating by the powerful, who try to establish pyramids of power, like feudalism. Yet, competition is the great creative force! So how do we save it from its own contradictions? By cooperation! By cooperating with each other, via politics, to make rules and prevent cheating, so that competition can thrive!
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Change is the principal feature of our age and literature should explore how people deal with it. The best science fiction does that, head-on.
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It's how creativity works. Especially in humans. For every good idea, ten thousand idiotic ones must first be posed, sifted, tried out, and discarded. A mind that's afraid to toy with the ridiculous will never come up with the brilliantly original.
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When it comes to privacy and accountability, people always demand the former for themselves and the latter for everyone else.
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