December 07, 2017

From The New York Times:

Yes, I want to know what else my favorite restaurant does well, but today I just want my favorite dish.

From The New York Times:

Experimentation is an act of humility, an acknowledgment that there is simply no way of knowing without trying something different.

From The Economist (on the role of religion and ritual in human society):

[The] human mind's need to find patterns in the universe and to situate itself within those giant matrices.

From The New Yorker:

[Philip] Roth is a comedian, really, rather than a humorist or a satirist. The difference is that you can be humorous or satiric out of intelligent purpose, while a gift for comedy is, like a gift for melody, something you’re born with.

From The New Yorker:

“How do you do, Alex?” to which of course I reply “Thank you.” Whatever anybody says to me during my first twenty-four hours in Iowa, I answer “Thank you.” Even to inanimate objects. I walk into a chair, promptly I say to it, “Excuse me. Thank you.”