“If you based your knowledge of the human species exclusively on adverts, you'd think that the normal condition of humanity was to be a good-looking single person between 20 and 35, with excellent muscle-definition and/or an excellent figure, and a large disposable income.” IfsThinkingHumansPersonsHumanityConditionsFiguresNormalSpeciesDefinitionsIncomeExcellentMusclesLooking GoodSingle PersonHuman SpeciesDisposableAdverts Author:Francis Spufford
“But you must still know to respect other people's faith.' 'Why? We don't respect any other delusion. We lock up people who believe they're Christ, yet we're supposed to humour those who believe in him.' 'By definition, faith is irrational: a belief you hold against the normal rules of evidence.' 'In which case I believe in Jedi” PeopleKnowsBelieveStillsBeliefI BelieveChristCasesHumourNormalEvidenceDefinitionsI Believe InDelusionLocksIrrationalRespecting OthersLock Up Book:The Enemy of the Good Source: The Enemy of the Good
“I was always interested in language. I thought, why not? If a painting, by the normal definition of the term, is paint on canvas, why can't it be painted words on canvas?” IfsLanguageTermPaintingNormalPaintDefinitionsWhy NotCanvas Author:John Baldessari
“There are at least two distinct meanings of 'hot': there is the, like, normal human definition which is that 'this individual seems suitable for mating'. And then there's the weird, culturally constructed definition of 'hot' which means, 'that individual is malnourished and has probably had plastic bags inserted into her breasts'. Like, I think if you went back to the 18th century and asked a 15-year-old boy, 'Would you like to marry a woman who has had plastic bags needlessly inserted into her breasts?' that 15-year-old boy would probably be like ... 'What's plastic?'” IfsThinkingYearsHumansMeanTwoSeemsIndividualBoysCenturyNormalHotDefinitionsBreastsBagsPlasticSuitable18th CenturyMatingPlastic Bags Author:John Green
“Why do you love the woman you're in love with? Because she is. And that, after all, is God's own definition of Himself; I am that I am. The girl is who she is. Some of her isness spills over and impregnates the entire universe. Objects and events cease to be mere representations of classes and become their own uniqueness; cease to be illustrations of verbal abstractions and become fully concrete. Then you stop being in love, and the universe collapses, with an almost audible squeak of derision, into its normal insignificance.” GirlUniverseClassEventsObjectsNormalMereDefinitionsCeaseConcreteCollapseUniquenessRepresentationAbstractionBeing In LoveSpillsIllustrationInsignificanceDerision Author:Aldous Huxley
“Perhaps there is supranatural: reason beyond the normal definitions of fact or data-based logic; something that only makes sense if you can see a bigger picture of reality. Maybe that is where faith fits in.” IfsReasonFactsRealityFitNormalLogicBiggerDefinitionsDataMake SenseBigger PictureShack Book Author:William P. Young
“Everybody knows there is no such thing as normal. There is no black-and-white definition of normal. Normal is subjective. There's only a messy, inconsistent, silly, hopeful version of how we feel most at home in our lives.” KnowsFeelsHomeBlackWhiteOur LivesNormalDefinitionsSillyVersionsHopefulBlack And WhiteSubjectiveMessyInconsistentNormalcy Author:Tori Spelling