Bits and Pieces

Meditations on Montaigne

50) Démocrite et Héraclite

”I do not think there is as much unhappiness in us as vanity, nor as much malice as stupidity. We are not so full of evil as of inanity; we are not as wretched as we are worthless.” And yet our inanity can do so much evil harm. How many people become expert in one field and assume it applies equally to all others?

My temperament refuses such boasts. I am monotropic in all respects. When I am engaged in a topic, I am fully immersed and my personal connections are often tied to my ties. I couldn’t imagine running four companies at once and destroying everything good about the U.S. Government as a hobby.

Instead of pretending to know about all, I aim to know as much as possible about the people and things I care about. I study, I question, I take stabs at explanations. And then I reconsider it all and start again. I could be wrong about it all, but that won’t keep me from the exploration.