A COSMOPOLITAN LAWYER: JUST SOME READINGS I HAVE ENJOYED LATELY

First, this blog replaces my previous blog, thecosmoplitanlawyerblogspot.com . Second, unlike that earlier blog, the present one is primarily meant as a record of my readings. It is not meant to suggest that others will be or should be interested in what I read. And third, in a sense, it is a public diary of one who is an alien in his own American culture. A person who feels at home just about anywhere, except in his birthplace . . . America.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: THE DREAD OF ABSTRACT THINKING

David Foster Wallace, Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity (Great Discoveries) (New York & London: Atlas Books/ W.W. Norton, 2003) ("One thing is certain, though. It is a total myth that man is by nature curious and truth =-hungry and wants, above all things, to know. Given certain recognized senses of 'to know.' there is in fact a great deal of stuff we do not want to know. Evidence for this is the enormous number of very basic questions and issues we do not like to think about abstractly." Id. at 12. "Theory: The dread and dangers of abstract thinking are the big reason why we now all like to stay so busy and bombarded with stimuli all the time. Abstract thinking tends most of ten strike during moment s of quiet repose." Id. at 13.).