A quotation from Marcus Aurelius

He that does a Memorable Action, and those that Report it, are all but short-liv’d Things.
 
[Πᾶν ἐφήμερον, καὶ τὸ μνημονεῦον καὶ τὸ μνημονευόμενον.]

Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) Roman emperor (161-180), Stoic philosopher
Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 4, ch. 35 (4.35) (AD 161-180) [tr. Collier (1701)]

Sourcing, notes, alternate translations: wist.info/marcus-aureleus/7613…

A quotation from Marcus Aurelius

This mortal life is a little thing, lived in a little corner of the earth; and little, too, is the longest fame to come — dependent as it is on a succession of fast-perishing little men who have no knowledge even of their own selves, much less of one long dead and gone.
 
[μικρὸν μὲν οὖν ὃ ζῇ ἕκαστος: μικρὸν δὲ τὸ τῆς γῆς γωνίδιον ὅπου ζῇ: μικρὸν δὲ καὶ ἡ μηκίστη ὑστεροφημία καὶ αὕτη δὲ κατὰ διαδοχὴν ἀνθρωπαρίων τάχιστα τεθνηξομένων καὶ οὐκ εἰδότων οὐδὲ ἑαυτοὺς οὐδέ γε τὸν πρόπαλαι τεθνηκότα.]

Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) Roman emperor (161-180), Stoic philosopher
Meditations [To Himself; Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν], Book 3, ch. 10 (3.10) (AD 161-180) [tr. Staniforth (1964)]

Sourcing, notes, alternate translations: wist.info/marcus-aureleus/7602…

Here's why PK (Pecha Kucha) is OK.

https://www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/presentations/2010/08/why-pk-pecha-kucha-is-ok

Here's why PK (Pecha Kucha) is OK.

https://www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/presentations/2010/08/why-pk-pecha-kucha-is-ok

First meeting of the year - I'm really hoping people aren't starting as they mean to go on... #brevity is always better guys... 90+ mins and still going
#2025meeting #newyear #meetinglife

A quotation from Selden, John:

«
Prayer should be short, without giving God Almighty reasons why he should grant this, or that; he knows best what is good for us.
»

Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/selden-john/6397/

New #review today: "There is the bare minimum of information available about the underground 1970 band from Chicago called #Brevity. I can only assume that Brevity’s Home Is Where Your Dog Is was a one-and-done. Recorded by #FrankZappa's Straight/Bizarre label, the album sat in the vaults for over 50 years before being unearthed, lovingly restored by Prof. Stoned, and now released on #ThinkLikeAKey..." #ExposeOnline #PsychedelicRock http://expose.org/index.php/articles/display/brevity-home-is-where-your-dog-is-6.html

I don’t read a lot of fiction but an author I had never heard of popped up in my feed today – Fleur Jaeggy. Her work sounds incredible. She’s been described as a master of hyper-brevity.

Years later the bigot Agnes Blannbekin, on the 1st of January, again and again turns in her mouth, tender as egg-skin and very sweet, Christ’s foreskin.

— I Am the Brother of XX

Just ordered this collection of short stories from Abe Books. Can’t wait!

Fleur Jaeggy is often noted for her terse and telegraphic style, which somehow brews up a profound paradox that seems bent on haunting the reader: despite a sort of zero-at-the-bone baseline, her fiction is weirdly also incredibly moving. How does she do it? No one knows. But here, in her newest collection, I Am the Brother of XX, she does it again. Like a magician or a master criminal, who can say how she gets away with it, but whether the stories involve famous writers (Calvino, Ingeborg Bachmann, Joseph Brodsky) or baronesses or 13th-century visionaries or tormented siblings bred up in elite Swiss boarding schools, they somehow steal your heart. And they don’t rest at that, but endlessly disturb your mind.

— Google Books

There's no spice in #brevity - on the #insufficiency of abbreviated #media

Abstract

In the following I would like to take a brief look at a media phenomenon that has been spreading for some time, but which I have come across more often recently. The idea is that “brevity is the spice of life”. In my studies on social media, I have noticed a particular form of reductionism (albeit in the literal sense) that borders on “emptying out meaning” or “mutilating content”.

In the relevant groups on social media, for example, it has long been common practice to receive a “TL:DR” (“too long, did'nt read”) for posts that exceed a length of 3 sentences. In the comments, this rule may still make sense, but in the posts I have often been unable to understand how it is possible to “summarize” a complex issue, such as those often found in philosophy, in 3 sentences. “Does free will exist? Yes..., No..., Maybe...”

The posts that seemed to be “successful” were usually so abbreviated that the content was bordering on irrelevant or pointless. The effect of “unconditional consumption” of “fast food” seemed to have been seamlessly transferred to “fast read” and “fast think” in the text media. Everything that doesn't “kick” in 3 seconds has “f...ed up” (thank brevity that I didn't have to write out the word ?) Most people “almost don't care”.

If you don't care and want to find out more, you can find it here:

https://philosophies.de/index.php/2024/05/26/kuerze-keine-wuerze/

There's no spice in #brevity - on the #insufficiency of abbreviated #media

In the following I would like to take a brief look at a media phenomenon that has been spreading for some time, but which I have come across more often recently. The idea is that “brevity is the spice of life”. In my studies on social media, I have noticed a particular form of reductionism (albeit in the literal sense) that borders on “emptying out meaning” or “mutilating content”.

https://philosophies.de/index.php/2024/05/26/kuerze-keine-wuerze/

There's no spice in #brevity - on the #insufficiency of abbreviated #media

The idea is that “brevity is the spice of life”. In my studies on social media, I have noticed a particular form of reductionism that borders on “emptying out meaning” or “mutilating content”.

In the relevant groups on social media, for example, it has long been common practice to receive a “TL:DR” (“too long, did'nt read”) for posts that exceed a length of 3 sentences

https://philosophies.de/index.php/2024/05/26/kuerze-keine-wuerze/

There's no spice in #brevity - on the #insufficiency of abbreviated #media

Abstract

The idea is that “brevity is the spice of life”. In my studies on social media, I have noticed a particular form of reductionism that borders on “emptying out meaning” or “mutilating content”.

In the relevant groups on social media, for example, it has long been common practice to receive a “TL:DR” (“too long, did'nt read”) for posts that exceed a length of 3 sentences.

https://philosophies.de/index.php/2024/05/26/kuerze-keine-wuerze/

There's no spice in #brevity - on the #insufficiency of abbreviated #media

Abstract

In the following I would like to take a brief look at a media phenomenon that has been spreading for some time, but which I have come across more often recently. The idea is that “brevity is the spice of life”. In my studies on social media, I have noticed a particular form of reductionism (albeit in the literal sense) that borders on “emptying out meaning” or “mutilating content”.

The posts that seemed to be “successful” were usually so abbreviated that the content was bordering on irrelevant or pointless. The effect of “unconditional consumption” of “fast food” seemed to have been seamlessly transferred to “fast read” and “fast think” in the text media. Everything that doesn't “kick” in 3 seconds has “f...ed up” (thank brevity that I didn't have to write out the word ?) Most people “almost don't care”.

If you don't care and want to find out more, you can find it here:

https://philosophies.de/index.php/2024/05/26/kuerze-keine-wuerze/

A quotation from Roosevelt, Franklin Delano:

«
Be sincere; be brief; be seated.
»

Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/roosevelt-franklin-delano/3325/

A quotation from Carlyle, Thomas:

«
After all, brevity is the soul of wit! There is endless merit in a man’s knowing when to have done. The stupidest man, if he will be brief in proportion, may fairly claim some hearing from us: he too, the stupidest man, has seen something, heard something, which is his own, distinctly peculiar, never seen or heard by an…
»

Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/carlyle-thomas/72195/

Here's why PK (Pecha Kucha) is OK.

https://www.conferencesthatwork.com/index.php/presentations/2010/08/why-pk-pecha-kucha-is-ok

Begin with an arresting sentence; close with a strong summary; in between speak simply, clearly, and always to the point; and above all be brief.
-- William J. Mayo

#Wisdom #Quotes #WilliamJMayo #Brevity #Writing

#Photography #Panorama #LakePowell #SlickRock #Canyon #Utah

Brevity update

It's been a while since I've updated the plot of paper-length over time to check in on whether I have become more long-winded as I've gotten older. Short answer: I have not.

The blue line is the linear fit to all the data. It is basically flat, suggesting that I am about as concise as I have ever been.

The green line is the linear fit to just the coauthored papers. I…

https://www.fecundity.com/nfw/2024/06/06/brevity-update/

A quotation from Millay, Edna St. Vincent:

«
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night:
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends —
It gives a lovely light!
»

Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/millay-edna-st-vincent/2827/

There's no spice in #brevity - on the #insufficiency of abbreviated #media

The posts that seemed to be “successful” were usually so abbreviated that the content was bordering on irrelevant or pointless. The effect of “unconditional consumption” of “fast food” seemed to have been seamlessly transferred to “fast read” and “fast think” in the text media. Everything that doesn't “kick” in 3 seconds has “f...ed up” Most people “almost don't care”.

https://philosophies.de/index.php/2024/05/26/kuerze-keine-wuerze/