“I felt I was moving among two groups [literary intellectuals and scientists] comparable in intelligence, identical in race, not grossly different in social origin, earning about the same incomes, who had almost ceased to communicate at all, who in intellectual, moral and psychological climate had so little in common that instead of going from Burlington Hom or South Kensington to Chelsea, one might have crossed an ocean.” LittlesTwoDifferentMightMovingScienceSocialFeltCommonRaceMoralGroupsSocietyOceanIntellectualScientistSouthClimateCommunicateIncomePsychologicalEarningIdenticalChelsea Author:C.P. Snow
“Most of us stand poised at the edge of brilliance, haunted by the knowledge of our proximity, yet still demonstrably on the wrong side of the line, our dealings with reality undermined by a range of minor yet critical psychological flaws (a little too much optimism, an unprocessed rebelliousness, a fatal impatience or sentimentality). We are like an exquisite high-speed aircraft which for lack of a tiny part is left stranded beside the runway, rendered slower than a tractor or bicycle.” LittlesStillsRealityLeftSidesLinesToo MuchOptimismEdgesCriticalSpeedTinyPsychologicalRangeFlawsMinorsImpatienceExquisiteBicycleBrillianceSentimentalityAircraftDealingsRunwayProximityHigh SpeedStrandedTractors Author:Alain de Botton