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P Quotes

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All P Quotes

“Populations eating a remarkably wide range of traditional diets generally don't suffer from these chronic diseases. These diets run the gamut from ones very high in fat (the Inuit in Greenland subsist largely on seal blubber) to ones high in carbohydrate (Central American Indians subsist largely on maize and beans) to ones very high in protein (Masai tribesmen in Africa subsist chiefly on cattle blood, meat and milk), to cite three rather extreme examples. But much the same holds true for more mixed traditional diets. What this suggests is that there is no single ideal human diet but that the human omnivore is exquisitely adapted to a wide range of different foods and a variety of different diets. Except, that is, for one: the relatively new (in evolutionary terms) Western diet that that most of us now are eating. What an extraordinary achievement for a civilization: to have developed the one diet that reliably makes its people sick!”

“Populism in contemporary art can become a dirty word. There is this notion that to not be understood is a reflection of depth. I'm sure this is true in some cases, but on the whole I can't accept this as a vision of art. There's something so cynical about assuming your audience is unintelligent or that artists shouldn't care about their viewers.”

“Populism is at its essence just determined focus on helping people be able to get out of the iron grip of the corporate power that is overwhelming our economy, our environment, energy, the media, government. One big difference between real populism and what the Tea Party thing is, is that real populists understand that government has become a subsidiary of corporations. So you can't say, let's get rid of government. You need to be saying let's take over government.”

“Populism is folkish, patriotism is not. One can be a patriot and a cosmopolitan. But a populist is inevitably a nationalist of sorts. Patriotism, too, is less racist than is populism. A patriot will not exclude a person of another nationality from the community where they have lived side by side and whom he has known for many years, but a populist will always remain suspicious of someone who does not seem to belong to his tribe.”

“Populism may look like an embrace of the have-nots, but in reality it is a form of cynical exploitation. The unscrupulous leader has no actual interest in bettering the lot of the poor. Surrounded from birth with great wealth, his tastes run to extravagant luxuries, and he finds nothing remotely appealing the lives of underclasses... But he sees that they can be made to further his ambition.”

“Populists believe in conspiracies, and one of the most enduring is that a secret group of international bankers and capitalists, and their minions, control the world's economy. Because of my name and prominence as the head of the Chase for many years, I have earned the distinction of the "conspirator in chief" from these people.”

“Populists have always been out to challenge the orthodoxy of the corporate order and to empower workaday Americans so they can control their own economic and political destinies. This approach distinguishes the movement from classic liberalism, which seeks to live in harmony with concentrated corporate power by trying to regulate excesses.”

“Populists have sought to extricate themselves from this conundrum in two different ways. Some populist movements claim adherence to the ideals of modern science and to the traditions of skeptical empiricism. They tell people that indeed you should never trust any institutions or figures of authority—including self-proclaimed populist parties and politicians. Instead, you should “do your own research” and trust only what you can directly observe by yourself. This radical empiricist position implies that while large-scale institutions like political parties, courts, newspapers, and universities can never be trusted, individuals who make the effort can still find the truth by themselves. This approach may sound scientific and may appeal to free-spirited individuals, but it leaves open the question of how human communities can cooperate to build health-care systems or pass environmental regulations, which demand large-scale institutional organization. Is a single individual capable of doing all the necessary research to decide whether the earth’s climate is heating up and what should be done about it? How would a single person go about collecting climate data from throughout the world, not to mention obtaining reliable records from past centuries? Trusting only “my own research” may sound scientific, but in practice it amounts to believing that there is no objective truth. As we shall see in chapter 4, science is a collaborative institutional effort rather than a personal quest.”

“Por cada pilriteiro dar os seus pilritos é que o mundo é variado, inesperado, e o cântico humano ressoa como um coro imenso numa catedral... Evidentemente que nem todas as existências têm a mesma significação. Mas, em última análise, também as menos relevantes são indispensáveis ao conjunto. Enriquecem-no. Sem elas, certas horas intermédias e simples, duma expressividade humilde, ficariam por revelar. E a harmonia é o todo, o grande e o pequeno de braço dado.”

“Por cierto, avispado lector, permíteme darte un consejo: nunca dejes un libro abierto sin vigilancia. Ni siquiera una centésima de segundo. Los de mi especie y yo solemos celebrar este tipo de descuidos frotándonos las manos. Un libro abierto y sin vigilancia siempre es una puerta hacia otro mundo. Nos gusta entrar en él y esperar, agazapados entre sus páginas, a que el descuidado lector regrese. Nos gusta observarle en silencio, medir el compás de su respiración, aprender de las expresiones de su rostro, del modo en que pasa las páginas, del cuidado con el que trata el ejemplar. En realidad, mientras ellos leer completamente ajenos al mundo, nosotros nos dedicamos en silencio a recolectar información. Todos los datos son pocos cuando se trata de una posible víctima. En cuanto vemos la ocasión -y ésta, no te engañes, llega tarde o temprano- saltamos con entusiasmoa su cuello y no dejamos ni los huesos. Cuídate de que no te ocurra a ti.”

“Por curiosidade estatística, tomei notas de todos os inimigos que, segundo os narradores, haviam morrido em combate, e o resultado era maior que o total do grupo que tinha nos enfrentado; a fantasia de cada um havia enfeitado suas façanhas, Com esta e outras experiências similares, aprendemos claramente que os dados devem ser comprovado por várias pessoas; e até, em nosso exagero, exigíamos objetos de cada soldado morto para considerá-lo realmente como uma baixa do inimigo, já que a preocupação pela verdade sempre foi fundamental nas informações do exército rebelde, e tentávamos infundir nos companheiros o profundo respeito por ela e pela percepção do quanto era necessário colocar a verdade acima de qualquer vantagem transitória.”

“Por definición un adolescente es una persona que está en transición. Va de paso. Por lo tanto, no es una persona que está “completa”, en el sentido, que aún le falta terminar su proceso, que le permita decir, “llegué, ya soy adulto”. Eso implica que exigir que todo lo que haga el adolescente esté en su lugar, que sea medido, equilibrado y ecuánime, es una utopía. El adolescente se va a equivocar y muchas veces, precisamente porque es un individuo que está en proceso, y en muchos sentidos, realizando acciones que en ensayo y error, le van mostrando el camino por el cual debe andar.”