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Max Barry

Max Barry Biography

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“You went to school," Lee said. "I mean, at some point. And it didn't suit you very well. They wanted to teach you things you didn't care about. Dates and math and trivia about dead presidents. They didn't teach persuasion. Your ability to persuade is the single most important determinant of your quality of life, and they didn't cover that at all. Well, we do. And we're looking for students with natural aptitude.”

SchoolEducationPersuasionLexicon
Book:Lexicon
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“He strode briskly away, to do whatever it was the managers did. Have meetings, I guess. Make phone calls. It was hard for us on the technical side to understand why the company required so many managers. Engineers built things. Salespeople sold things. Even Human Resources I could understand, kind of. But managers proliferated despite performing very few identifiable functions.”

ManagersEngineersHuman ResourcesSalespeople
Book:Machine Man
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“Warum wollen sie unbedingt, dass ich den Auftrag storniere?' Der Mann klingt auf einmal misstrauisch. 'Seid ihr überbucht?' 'Ich will Ihnen nur helfen. Wirklich, unsere Kurse sind grottenschlecht. Es ist immer die gleiche Teamwork-Botschaft, nur unter verschiedenen Namen verpackt.' 'Ich hab nichts mit Teamwork bestellt. >Leitung von C++-Programmierern im Rahmen terminsensibler Projekte< - das wollte ich.' 'Das ist der Teamwork-Kurs. Und alle anderen sind auch der Teamwork-Kurs!”

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Book:Company
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“In the sciences, looking good was usually a negative. It implied you wasted time on outdoor activities instead of building something useful. Even using hair product or makeup implied misguided priorities. Like you thought how things looked mattered, instead of how they worked. We liked to look at attractive people. We expected it of our movie stars and TV characters. But we did not respect it. We knew physical attractiveness was inversely correlated with intelligence, because look at us.”

Science Humor
Book:Machine Man
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“Look, I understand that for a lot of people, the US is superior to their country of residence in myriad ways, but I'm Australian. We have it all: the weather, the beautiful cities, the brand of football that involves neither padding yourself up like Santa Claus nor standing in a line in front of goal and covering your testicles.”

PeopleWayLooksCountryBeautifulGoalLinesCitiesFrontsFootballStandingSuperiorsWeatherBrandsSantaAustralianCoveringSanta ClausResidenceTesticlesBeautiful City
Author:Max Barry
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“Monday morning and there's one less donut than there should be. Keen observers note the reduced mass straightaway but stay silent, because saying, 'Hey, is that only six donuts?' would betray their donut experience. It's not great for your career to be known as the person who can spot the difference between six and seven donuts at a glance.”

ShouldPersonsDifferencesKnownCareersMorningSixMassNotesSilentSevenSpotsHeyBetrayGlancesMondayObserversMonday MorningDonuts
Author:Max Barry
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“She had been in situations like this, where people said, Convince me, and in none of those had they actually wanted to be convinced. She could lay down a perfect argument and they just invented new bullshit on the spot to justify why the answer was still no. When people said, Convince me, she knew it didn’t mean they had an open mind. It meant they had power and wanted to enjoy it a minute.”

PeopleMindMeanSaidStillsWantedEnjoyAnswersPerfectSituationMinutesArgumentLaysConvincedSpotsConvinceJustifyOpennessBullshitOpen Mind
Author:Max Barry
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“I usually like to interact with people who don't speak until it's necessary but I was intimidated by Carl's physique. I didn't feel inferior so much as incompatible. Carl existed on a plane where success was measured by physical feats. He had a brain because his body needed it, rather than the opposite. I didn't understand such people. I didn't know what they wanted, or might do.”

PeopleKnowsFeelsBodyMightWantedSpeakBrainNeededOppositesPlanesInferiorsIntimidatedFeatsPhysique
Book:Machine Man
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“I don't play the lottery. I don't care what my horoscope says. I think most things about the world could be improved if people thought more about what they're doing. When someone gets upset with their computer, I tend to side with the computer. I think art is overrated, and bridges are underrated. In fact, I don't understand why bridges aren't art. It seems to me they're penalized for having a use. If I make a bridge that ends in midair, that's a sculpture. But put it between two landmasses and let it ferry two hundred thousand cars per day and it's infrastructure. That makes no sense.”

PeopleIfsThinkingWorldArtTwoEndsPlayFactsUseSeemsCareSidesCarThousandComputerArt IsHundredDon't CareBridgesI Don't CareUpsetSculptureInfrastructureLotteryOverratedUnderratedFerryHoroscopes
Author:Max Barry
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