SapereAude Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Suddenly I have an unusual for me amount of time on my hands. As such I've been spending more time on the internet. I've become somewhat fascinated with the stupidities that people put out there as "wisdom". I'm going to start a collection of them here, feel free to add. I see this as "a list of collectivist sayings that would have my grampaw shaking his cane and howling about those gawddam commie kids" Number one- from a self-help twitter account Inspiration doesn't need motivation. Can anyone find a rational interpretation of this statement? When I think of inspiration without motivation all I see is a pothead on the couch wondering why someone hasn't funded his dreams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'kian Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Can anyone find a rational interpretation of this statement? "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." Thomas Edison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SapereAude Posted June 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." Thomas Edison I don't mean a rational rebuttal.. I mean any way of looking at the actual quote in a way that makes sense. Edison's quote is the exact opposite of the self help drivvel I posted above Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aequalsa Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 I don't mean a rational rebuttal.. I mean any way of looking at the actual quote in a way that makes sense. Edison's quote is the exact opposite of the self help drivvel I posted above You might be able to make the argument that if you are inspired by what you're doing, you won't need any otherkind of motivation. In the sense that, if you love your job you would do it for free and do not need a big pay check to get up each morning. I don't think that it's particularly right, but I can understand the sentiment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninth Doctor Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 If you view motivation as something which has to be an input from without, then the aphorism makes sense. Try thinking like a manager who's always having to nudge (and/or kick) your subordinates to get them just to do their jobs, let alone excel. Then you bring in someone new for your staff, and they don't need motivating, they just have talent and a good work ethic. Would I use the term "inspiration", eh, maybe, probably not. I don't think it's a good aphorism, there's a bad ambiguity to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazingtruth Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 The most irrational aphorism I can think of is "Ignorance is bliss." It annoys me so much to the extent that I had to write a blog entry about it.. http://davidmasten.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/party-at-the-pierian-spring/ Check it out, if interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinD Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 The most irrational aphorism I can think of is "Ignorance is bliss." That's right up there with "Having a child can save a failing marriage." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freestyle Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 "That's good in theory, but not in practice." Self-refuting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khaight Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 "I'd rather be happy than right." The more I think about that one the more irrational and evil it gets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volco Posted July 16, 2011 Report Share Posted July 16, 2011 "Only the impossible is worth attempting. In everything else one is sure to fail" -you know whose aphorism this is. I don't know what to make out of this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 (edited) "Good guys finish last." That one bugs me. Edited March 14, 2012 by Dante softwareNerd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JASKN Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 (edited) "Shoot for the moon and at least you'll land among the stars." Egalitarianism, general pessimism. May as well say, "You won't ever get what you want." Otherwise, why not instead say something like, oh, "Try, try again."? Edited March 14, 2012 by JASKN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairnet Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 "Good guys finish last." That one bugs me. I always thought that refered to a type of male who attempts to gain the admiration of women by being "nice" to them rather than having any of the virtues that women actually want. That is the context I see it usually used in. I guess in general the idea is that if you have all the right qualities being nice is just a bonus, and if you don't being nice is pointless. I have basically learned in life that you can get away with a lot of stuff if you are productive, good looking, and have good hygene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicky Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." Thomas Edison Sounds like someone should've invented deodorant instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 I always thought that refered to a type of male who attempts to gain the admiration of women by being "nice" to them rather than having any of the virtues that women actually want. That is the context I see it usually used in. I guess in general the idea is that if you have all the right qualities being nice is just a bonus, and if you don't being nice is pointless. I have basically learned in life that you can get away with a lot of stuff if you are productive, good looking, and have good hygene. Well 'getting away' with something is always more complicated than people generally suppose. Anyways, the general connotation of the saying is that people who get ahead do it by screwing over others, and those who don't do so won't advance. There is the more sympathetic interpretation of the saying, which is that nice, shy guys who don't put themselves out there won't achieve success in relationships, career, etc. That's certainly true, but being nice/good and being assertive aren't mutually exclusive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softwareNerd Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." Thomas Edison Sounds like someone should've invented deodorant instead.Funny! But, Edison's quote is great advice in a whole lot of contexts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dream_weaver Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 "No good deed goes unpunished." Clare Boothe Luce, The Women (1936), Meaning: Life is inherently unfair, those who help others are doomed to suffer as a result of their being helpful. Malevolent universe premise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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