Quote of the Day

“We do on stage things that are supposed to happen off. Which is a kind of integrity, if you look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else.” — Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Quote of the Day

“Because children grow up, we think a child’s purpose is to grow up. But a child’s purpose is to be a child.” — Tom Stoppard, Shipwreck

Quote of the Day

“Eternity’s a terrible thought. I mean, where’s it all going to end?” — Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Quote of the Day

“Age is a very high price to pay for maturity.” — Tom Stoppard, Where Are They Now?

Quote of the Day

“Act first! The ideas will follow, and if not — well, it’s progress.” — Tom Stoppard, The Coast of Utopia: Voyage

Quote of the Day

“How the world must have been changing while I was holding it still.” — Tom Stoppard, The Coast of Utopia: Voyage

Quote of the Day

“The secret of life … is … ‘This is not a drill’.” — Tom Stoppard, Darkside

Quote of the Day

“We define happiness as a state of well-being, starting off with being alive instead of dead.” — Tom Stoppard, Darkside

Quote of the Day

“An essentially private man who wished his total indifference to public notice to be universally recognized.” — Tom Stoppard, Travesties

Juggling Beliefs Metaphorically

I like the juggler as a metaphor. I think it holds up well.

“There’s a juggler on the radio. He sounds exactly the same as if there’s no juggler. There’s lots of people listening to the radio, and some are saying ‘I believe in the juggler!’ and some are saying ‘There is no juggler!’, and there’s a few philosopher-type people saying, ‘How’s a juggler you can’t see, hear, smell or touch different from no juggler?’ But there’s nothing any of these people can tell each other about the existence or the non-existence of the juggler.” — Tom Stoppard, Darkside

The conclusion is my favourite part of the passage. A discussion about beliefs is more likely to be an argument rather than a debate and the only result is anger.

I have a saying that I am using a lot these days: I won’t question the choice (belief), though I may question the reasons. I use this even when I agree with the choice. Questioning choices is what leads to pointless disputes.

I guess I am a philosopher-type.

Related:
A Thought Experiment: Darkside