The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is seen as the beginning of modern depravity.
Umberto EcoRead
Mystical additions and subtractions always come out the way you want.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The idea suggests that there is a deeper, almost magical quality to how we manipulate numbers or concepts to achieve desired outcomes.
Umberto Eco's quote implies that the way we engage with numbers and ideas transcends mere mathematics; it touches on the mystical or philosophical aspects of understanding and perception. This can be interpreted as a commentary on how subjective influences shape our interpretations and outcomes in various contexts, revealing the inherent power of thought and creativity in shaping reality.
Themes
MysticalManipulationPerceptionOutcomesCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech discussing how perspectives can shape realities.
More from Umberto Eco
All quotes →I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early poetry, and bad poets publish it. Thankfully I gave up rather quickly.
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But why do some people support [the heretics]?" "Because it serves their purposes, which concern the faith rarely, and more often the conquest of power." "Is that why the church of Rome accuses all its adversaries of heresy?" "That is why, and that is also why it recognizes as orthodoxy any heresy it can bring back under its own control or must accept because the heresy has become too strong.
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You die, but most of what you have accumulated will not be lost; you are leaving a message in a bottle.
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"Then we are living in a place abandoned by God," I said, disheartened. "Have you found any places where God would have felt at home?" William asked me, looking down from his great height.
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The lunatic is all idée fixe, and whatever he comes across confirms his lunacy. You can tell him by the liberties he takes with common sense, by his flashes of inspiration, and by the fact that sooner or later he brings up the Templars.
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