Home > Author > Vizi Andrei
1 " Kindness without truth comes across as flattery.Truth without kindness comes across as disrespect.Those who manage to find the sweet spot are the most persuasive. "
― Vizi Andrei , Economy of Truth: Practical Maxims and Reflections
2 " Once I make a decision, I decide to ignore any type of counter-arguments, no matter how reasonable they are. I have a strong personality; or, in other words, I’m an authentic imbecile. "
3 " In an abundant world, productivity is about eliminating bad habits; then adding good ones.In an abundant world, knowledge is about filtering, rather than gathering, information.In an abundant world, discipline is the new freedom.In an abundant world―less is more; and more is less. "
4 " How do you solve a delicate life problem? It depends. On what? On many variables. The person who offers a straightforward solution to a delicate life problem is imprudent. There's no straightforward solution when it comes to choosing your career, to finding a good enough life partner, to discovering happiness or, let's say, peace of mind. "
5 " Easterners get excited if the train arrives on time. Westerners deem such an event implicit. What for some represents a trivial circumstance, is for others a festival. "
6 " Show your anger when needed. People need to know what irritates you and what doesn’t.But, crucially, remain internally calm.Your anger is only a tool. Don’t become its puppet. "
7 " You're not a lawyer. You're someone who helps people deal with legal matters. You're not a doctor. You're a fellow who saves people's lives or gives them the right advice to improve their health.Add a verb to your identity – it keeps you sane; not a pompous noun – which may only boost your ego; it may distract you from your purpose, from the actions you need to take.Your job is to do something, not to be something. "
8 " To win an argument, rely on logic. To win in life, question logic.If you’re not willing to often take actions that don’t make much sense, having a mediocre life will make perfect sense. "
9 " If fame is a curse, successful people―by definition―can’t be seen.Almost every person I admire has a quiet life at home with someone they love, working on projects they love―designing their life as they love. "
10 " Men are not to be judged so much by what they know, but rather by what they know they do not know.Judge a man not by his knowledge, but by his level of awareness of its limits. "
11 " The human mind doesn’t seek truth and accuracy; it seeks meaning.Our minds didn’t evolve to be scientific tools; they evolved to be survival tools.In other words, nature didn’t design them to be truth-seekers – it designed them to be useful for our emotional, mental, and social fitness.It’s a shame no one dares to develop a criterion for rationality based on meaning, since that’s what our intellectual diet is fundamentally based on. "
12 " If you want to have a calm discussion about a hot topic, use an arsenal of cold phrases. "
13 " Creativity is not something we can acquire systematically. The most we can do is to foster a state of mind so that creativity may come to us. "
14 " A good writer chooses his words carefully.A great writer lets the words choose him. "
15 " Good philosophers start with theory and end up with action.Great philosophers start with action and end up withtheory. "
16 " From a cosmic perspective, I'm simply an accident that has nothing to lose. Why take it all so seriously? "
17 " Logic, if used as the main instrument for thinking, frustrates the functions of the mind – it doesn‘t improve them.Great ideas are often the result of creativity, serendipity and higher pleasures. A logical thought experiment may be thus successful only if it is infused with the aforementioned three elements. "
18 " If you can’t appreciate science and religion at the same time, your life must be scary. "
19 " Ideas are not situated within the books we read – but within ourselves. That’s why we consider many ideas to be evident once we read them. We read a book, and, after doing so, we consider what we read to be ‘common sense’. The expression of ideas, and not the ideas in themselves, is what we seek when reading books. Ideas are latent components of our soul – and the soul can hardly make an agreement with the brain to help language produce a refined and precise expression of those ideas. Those who succeed in making that agreement are the writers – the good writers. And we need to thank them – and we can automatically do so if we read their books. "
20 " Rationality is undetected rhetoric. "
