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Reinterpretation Quotes

Browse 18 quotes about Reinterpretation.

Reinterpretation Quotes

“I am always a different man; a reinterpretation of the man I was yesterday, and the day before, and all the days I have lived. The past is gone, was always gone; it does not exist, except in memory, and what is memory but thought, a copy of perception, no less but no more replete with truth than any passing whim, fancy, or other agitation of the mind. And if it is actions, words, thoughts that define an individual, those definitions alter like the weather - if continuity and pattern are often discernible, so are chaos and sudden change.”

TruthTodayChangePerceptionThoughtsChaosWordsMemoryDefinitionsYesterdayFancyActionsContinuityWhimThe PastPatternReinterpretationGwynn
Book:The Etched City
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“Your life is written in indelible ink. There's no going back to erase the past, tweak your mistakes, or fill in missed opportunities. When the moment's over, your fate is sealed. But if look closer, you notice the ink never really dries on any our experiences. They can change their meaning the longer you look at them. Klexos. There are ways of thinking about the past that aren't just nostalgia or regret. A kind of questioning that enriches an experience after the fact. To dwell on the past is to allow fresh context to trickle in over the years, and fill out the picture; to keep the memory alive, and not just as a caricature of itself. So you can look fairly at a painful experience, and call it by its name. Time is the most powerful force in the universe. It can turn a giant into someone utterly human, just trying to make their way through. Or tell you how you really felt about someone, even if you couldn't at the time. It can put your childhood dreams in context with adult burdens or turn a universal consensus into an embarrassing fad. It can expose cracks in a relationship that once seemed perfect. Or keep a friendship going by thoughts alone, even if you'll never see them again. It can flip your greatest shame into the source of your greatest power, or turn a jolt of pride into something petty, done for the wrong reasons, or make what felt like the end of the world look like a natural part of life. The past is still mostly a blank page, so we may be doomed to repeat it. But it's still worth looking into if it brings you closer to the truth. Maybe it's not so bad to dwell in the past, and muddle in the memories, to stem the simplification of time, and put some craft back into it. Maybe we should think of memory itself as an art form, in which the real work begins as soon as the paint hits the canvas. And remember that a work of art is never finished, only abandoned.”

PastLooking BackReinterpretationLearning From The PastJohn Koenig
Author:John Koenig
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“These examples of [adjusting] physical activities are relatively straightforward. Bodies age and we have to change how we think about success or we'll always be failing. I think these examples are worth discussing, though, because they make an important point: we don't always see these necessary changes as changes; instead, we think of them as quitting or capitulating. Why? We don't have to see changes as capitulations, and it is often better not to. ... In other words, I'll be better off thinking, "I value my health and I'm finding new ways to maintain my flexibility as I age" than "I used to love yoga, but I've given up.”

Values In LifeReinterpretation
Book:What Do You Want Out of Life?: A Philosophical Guide to Figuring Out What Matters
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“When I was a kid, I heard a story about half of all marriages end in divorce. At that time, it was a story about my parents. Twenty years later, I heard the same story — that half of all marriages end in divorce. Then, it was a story about my wife and I. Today, I heard the same story again — that half of all marriages end in divorce. Now, it’s a story about my kids. I heard that same exact story three times — the same exact words — but each time I heard it, it was a completely different story. It changed because I changed.”

ChildrenUnderstandingChangeMarriagePerceptionDivorceStoryRereadingReinterpretation
Book:Heaven and Hurricanes
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“In order to be as free as I possibly can, in my own imagination, I can't take positions that are closed. Everything I've ever done, in the writing world, has been to expand articulation, rather than to close it, to open doors, sometimes, not even closing the book -- leaving the endings open for reinterpretation, revisitation, a little ambiguity.”

WorldWritingLittlesHas BeensI CanBookSometimesDoneOrderImaginationMy OwnDoorsPositionLeavingClosingAmbiguityArticulationReinterpretation
Author:Toni Morrison
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“Science fiction that's just about people wandering around in space ships shooting each other with ray guns is very dull. I like it when it enables you to do fairly radical reinterpretations of human experience, just to show all the different interpretations that can be put on apparently fairly simple and commonplace events. That I find fun.”

PeopleHumansDifferentShowsFunSimpleSpaceFictionEventsGunScience FictionShipsWanderRadicalShootingDullInterpretationRaysHuman ExperienceCommonplaceWandering AroundDifferent InterpretationsReinterpretation
Author:Douglas Adams
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“Maya Jasanoff's Liberty's Exiles places the loyalist experience and the aftermath of the American Revolution in an entirely new light. Alongside the Spirit of 1776, Jasanoff gives us the Spirit of 1783, dedicated to remaking the mighty British Empire, and then offers a stunning reinterpretation of the Loyalists' complicated role in that remaking. Her meticulously researched and superbly written account is historical revision at its finest, and it affirms her place as one of the very finest historians of the rising generation.”

GivingLightSpiritLibertyRolesWrittenGenerationsRevolutionOffersAccountsHistoricalComplicatedBritishRisingEmpiresHistorianDedicatedFinestExileAmerican RevolutionStunningBritish EmpireRevisionAftermathLoyalistsReinterpretation
Author:Sean Wilentz
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“What we require is not a formal return to tradition and religion, but a rereading, a reinterpretation, of our history that can illuminate the present and pave the way to a better future. For example, if we delve more deeply into ancient Egyptian and African civilisations we will discover the humanistic elements that were prevalent in many areas of life. Women enjoyed a high status and rights, which they later lost when class patriarchal society became the prevalent social system.”

IfsWayLostSocialClassRightsExampleReturnElementsAreasTraditionAncientEnjoyedFormalCivilisationEgyptianBetter FutureSocial SystemsHumanisticPatriarchal SocietyRereadingAncient EgyptianReinterpretation
Book:The Nawal El Saadawi Reader
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