Listen, three eyes," he said, "don't you try to outweird me, I get stranger things than you free with my breakfast cereal.
Douglas AdamsRead
The party and the Krikkit warship looked, in their writhings, a little like two ducks, one of which is trying to make a third duck inside the second duck, whilst the second duck is trying very hard to explain that it doesn't feel ready for a third duck right now, is uncertain that it would want any putative third duck anyway, and certainly not whilst it, the second duck, was busy flying.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote humorously illustrates the complexity and confusion of trying to manage multiple tasks or responsibilities.
In this whimsical metaphor by Douglas Adams, the absurd image of ducks struggling with the concept of creating a third duck serves as a humorous commentary on the challenges of juggling responsibilities and expectations. It underscores the confusion and hesitation that can arise when faced with new challenges, particularly when one is already preoccupied with existing ones, highlighting a relatable struggle in a light-hearted manner.
Themes
AbsurdityResponsibilityConfusionHumorTasks
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about work-life balance, one could refer to this quote to illustrate the humorous chaos of juggling multiple commitments.
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All quotes →"What's so unpleasant about being drunk?" "Ask a glass of water."
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Protect me from knowing what I don't need to know. Protect me from even knowing that there are things to know that I don't know. Protect me from knowing that I decided not to know about the things that I decided not to know about. Amen. [...] Lord, lord, lord. Protect me from the consequences of the above prayer.
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Computers are still technology because we are still wrestling with it: it's still being invented; we're still trying to work out how it works. There's a world of game interaction to come that you or I wouldn't recognise. It's time for the machines to disappear. The computer's got to disappear into all of the things we use.
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What the computer in virtual reality enables us to do is to recalibrate ourselves so that we can start seeing those pieces of information that are invisible to us but have become important for us to understand.
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We are stuck with technology when all we really want is just stuff that works. How do you recognize something that is still technology? A good clue is if it comes with a manual.
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