You will become way less concerned with what other people think of you when you realize how seldom they do.
David Foster WallaceRead
I'm not putting any of this well. I am not and never have been an intellectual. I am not articulate, and the subjects that I am trying to describe and discuss are beyond my abilities. I am trying, however, the best I can, and will go back over this as carefully as possible when I am finished, and will make changes and corrections whenever I can see a way to make what I'm discussing clearer or more interesting without fabricating anything.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects humility in recognizing one's limitations in expressing complex ideas.
David Foster Wallace expresses his struggle with articulating profound concepts, acknowledging his lack of intellectual eloquence. He emphasizes the importance of making an effort to communicate honestly and clearly, demonstrating that while he may not possess the skills of a great thinker or speaker, he is committed to improving his expression and making his ideas more accessible and engaging.
Themes
CommunicationHumilityExpressionUnderstandingStruggle
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about the challenges of effective communication.
More from David Foster Wallace
All quotes →Everything in my own immediate experience supports my deep belief that I am the absolute center of the universe, the realest, most vivid and important person in existence.
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It seems important to find ways of reminding ourselves that most 'familiarity' is meditated and delusive.
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Under fun's new administration, writing fiction becomes a way to go deep inside yourself and illuminate precisely the stuff you don't want to see or let anyone else see, and this stuff usually turns out (paradoxically) to be precisely the stuff all writers and readers share and respond to, feel.
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Acceptance is usually more a matter of fatigue than anything else.
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Bliss - a-second-by-second joy and gratitude at the gift of being alive, conscious - lies on the other side of crushing, crushing boredom. Pay close attention to the most tedious thing you can find (Tax Returns, Televised Golf) and, in waves, a boredom like you’ve never known will wash over you and just about kill you. Ride these out, and it’s like stepping from black and white into color. Like water after days in the desert. Instant bliss in every atom.
David Foster WallaceRead
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