You will become way less concerned with what other people think of you when you realize how seldom they do.
David Foster WallaceRead
I have heard upscale adult U.S. citizens ask the ship's Guest Relations Desk whether snorkeling necessitates getting wet...I now know the precise mixocological difference between a Slippery Nipple and a fuzzy navel.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote humorously highlights the absurdity of certain questions and showcases the author's extensive knowledge on trivial matters.
David Foster Wallace uses this quote to illustrate the absurdity of people asking ridiculous questions, such as whether snorkeling requires getting wet, highlighting the disconnect between the experiences expected during leisure activities and the overly analytical nature some individuals can exhibit. The mention of cocktail names also reflects a commentary on the trivial knowledge people sometimes possess, emphasizing how it contrasts with more meaningful experiences.
Themes
HumorAbsurdityTrivialKnowledgeExistential
In practice
Example use cases
During a comedy night, to make the audience laugh, one could say this quote to illustrate absurd scenarios.
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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