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
What this quote means
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 technologyβit requires involvement and engagement in oneβs cultural heritage and the arts.
Themes
TechnologyCultureComfortSuperficialityEngagement
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of genuine cultural experiences over digital conveniences.
More from Thomas Mann
All quotes βStupid β well, there are so many kinds of stupidity, and cleverness is one of the worst.
Thomas MannRead
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.
Thomas MannRead
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.
Thomas MannRead
Literature... is the union of suffering with the instinct for form.
Thomas MannRead
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.
Thomas MannRead
Similar quotes
I don't try to be a threat to MicroSoft, mainly because I don't really see MS as competition. Especially not Windows-the goals of Linux and Windows are simply so different.
Linus TorvaldsRead
In those days [batch processing] programmers never even documented their programs, because it was assumed that nobody else would ever use them. Now, however, time-sharing had made exchanging software trivial: you just stored one copy in the public repository and therby effectively gave it to the world. Immediately people began to document their programs and to think of them as being usable by others. They started to build on each other's work.
Robert FanoRead
Most software today is very much like an Egyptian pyramid with millions of bricks piled on top of each other, with no structural integrity, but just done by brute force and thousands of slaves.
Alan KayRead
I mean, you can't have advertising be the only official business of the information economy if the information economy is going to take over.
Jaron LanierRead
The Internet offers opportunities that are more unique than ever before. With TV, I know I'm making 22 minutes; I know there's a commercial in the middle. With the Internet, no one knows anything. No rules.
Jerry SeinfeldRead
Hard numbers tell an important story; user stats and sales numbers will always be key metrics. But every day, your users are sharing a huge amount of qualitative data, too - and a lot of companies either don't know how or forget to act on it.
Stewart ButterfieldRead