The task of a writer consists of being able to make something out of an idea.
Thomas MannRead
Technology and comfort - having those, people speak of culture, but do not have it.
Interpretation
Comfort and technology can create an illusion of culture without true cultural understanding.
In this quote, Thomas Mann suggests that the advancement of technology and the conveniences it brings can lead people to believe they possess culture. However, he warns that this superficial understanding does not equate to genuine cultural depth or appreciation, indicating that true culture requires more than just comfort and technology—it requires involvement and engagement in one’s cultural heritage and the arts.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of genuine cultural experiences over digital conveniences.
The task of a writer consists of being able to make something out of an idea.
Stupid — well, there are so many kinds of stupidity, and cleverness is one of the worst.
It is a strange fact that freedom and equality, the two basic ideas of democracy, are to some extent contradictory. Logically considered, freedom and equality are mutually exclusive, just as society and the individual are mutually exclusive.
I tell them that if they will occupy themselves with the study of mathematics they will find in it the best remedy against the lusts of the flesh.
Literature... is the union of suffering with the instinct for form.
The Freudian theory is one of the most important foundation stones for an edifice to be built by future generations, the dwelling of a freer and wiser humanity.
If you go back back a few hundred years, what we take for granted today would seem like magic - being able to talk to people over long distances, to transmit images, flying, accessing vast amounts of data like an oracle. These are all things that would have been considered magic a few hundred years ago.
Five or ten years ago, when it was clear the Internet was becoming a mainstream phenomenon, it was equally clear that a lot of people were being left out and could be left behind
Our lives look a lot more interesting when they’re filtered through the sexy Facebook interface. We star in our own movies, we photograph ourselves incessantly, we click the mouse and a machine confirms our sense of mastery.
I don't condone anyone causing damage in my name, or doing anything malicious in support of my plight. There are more productive ways to help me. As a hacker myself, I never intentionally damaged anything.
The cost of adding a feature isn't just the time it takes to code it. The cost also includes the addition of an obstacle to future expansion. ... The trick is to pick the features that don't fight each other.
I am hoping, though, that many of them have kids, who, when they have a moment to take a break from their iPods, Internet, or Google, will explain to their parents running the country just how the world is being flattened.
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