Our obsession with quotes

[TheGreatGatsby]

In recent times, internet quote sites have become THE place to go for 'instant wisdom', which seems a bit disturbing, given that most of the quotes there and certainly most of the popular ones are pseudo-profound ramblings that often find their way to Facebook (e.g. "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"). While it is sometimes useful and meaningful to quote a certain work of fiction or nonfiction or even an independent saying that exists just for the sake of being quoted, the huge obsession with quotes in society seems a little absurd and perhaps points towards a type of immaturity in many people, choosing short, often out-of-context, bites of thought to replace genuine reflection and offer shallow inspiration. Many do not even consider the questions or issues raised in the quotes themselves at all, instead sharing them online for the sake of getting likes and, if they're lucky, comments. Do you think quotes are in any way useful for intellectual or 'spiritual' development or are they just unusable sentences that offer nothing but short-term amusement?

[Thinking Aloud]

If someone famous once said it, surely that bolsters one's argument.

I rarely use quotes from other people, as I usually try to frame my own arguments/ideas, and anyway, I'm not well-read enough to be able to pluck them from the ether, so finding a quote for the sake of having one seems just a bit too full-of-ones'-self.

[PsychoSerenity]

People have been repeating random and often nonsense or contradictory one-line proverbs and sayings for centuries. I don't think there's any particular recent obsession with it. Perhaps the likes of facebook and twitter have made it easier for them to spread - but to me it seems only in proportion with the amount of other information sharing across the internet.

[Bella Fortuna]

I recently listened to the radio programme Stephen Fry did on quotes, that addressed some of these issues - very interesting and entertaining.

[Thinking Aloud]

I recently listened to the radio programme Stephen Fry did on quotes, that addressed some of these issues - very interesting and entertaining.

But you're not going to quote him.

[TheGreatGatsby]

I recently listened to the radio programme Stephen Fry did on quotes, that addressed some of these issues - very interesting and entertaining.

Would you happen to know where I can listen to this programme?

___

I typed 'Stephen Fry on quotes' into Google and the first page was, ironically, filled with inviting websites promising 'Stephen Fry quotes'.

Similarly, if you type 'Quotes are stupid', you get results like 'Stupidity quotes', 'Quotes about stupid people', etc. It seems that the quote industry has made itself immune to criticism.

[PsychoSerenity]

I recently listened to the radio programme Stephen Fry did on quotes, that addressed some of these issues - very interesting and entertaining.

Would you happen to know where I can listen to this programme?

Stephen Fry on quotes sounds worth a listen.

[Bella Fortuna]

See here: http://www.amazon.com/Frys-English-Deli ... 1602837473

It's great stuff!

[TheGreatGatsby]

See here: http://www.amazon.com/Frys-English-Deli ... 1602837473

It's great stuff!

thanks!

[Hermit]

In recent times, internet quote sites have become THE place to go for 'instant wisdom', which seems a bit disturbing, given that most of the quotes there and certainly most of the popular ones are pseudo-profound ramblings that often find their way to Facebook (e.g. "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"). While it is sometimes useful and meaningful to quote a certain work of fiction or nonfiction or even an independent saying that exists just for the sake of being quoted, the huge obsession with quotes in society seems a little absurd and perhaps points towards a type of immaturity in many people, choosing short, often out-of-context, bites of thought to replace genuine reflection and offer shallow inspiration. Many do not even consider the questions or issues raised in the quotes themselves at all, instead sharing them online for the sake of getting likes and, if they're lucky, comments. Do you think quotes are in any way useful for intellectual or 'spiritual' development or are they just unusable sentences that offer nothing but short-term amusement?

Love the quote in your current sig: "Give a monkey a brain and he'll swear he's the center of the universe." Is that the sort of thing you're talking about?

[TheGreatGatsby]

In recent times, internet quote sites have become THE place to go for 'instant wisdom', which seems a bit disturbing, given that most of the quotes there and certainly most of the popular ones are pseudo-profound ramblings that often find their way to Facebook (e.g. "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"). While it is sometimes useful and meaningful to quote a certain work of fiction or nonfiction or even an independent saying that exists just for the sake of being quoted, the huge obsession with quotes in society seems a little absurd and perhaps points towards a type of immaturity in many people, choosing short, often out-of-context, bites of thought to replace genuine reflection and offer shallow inspiration. Many do not even consider the questions or issues raised in the quotes themselves at all, instead sharing them online for the sake of getting likes and, if they're lucky, comments. Do you think quotes are in any way useful for intellectual or 'spiritual' development or are they just unusable sentences that offer nothing but short-term amusement?

Love the quote in your current sig: "Give a monkey a brain and he'll swear he's the center of the universe." Is that the sort of thing you're talking about?

Well, as I said, I think quotes are often useful. If this quote came here as a result of a search for 'meaning of life quotes' or 'atheism quotes' or anything like that done just because I was searching for a witty quote for my sig, it would be an act of hypocrisy on my part. Instead, I found it saved in Evernote for personal use.

[Hermit]

In recent times, internet quote sites have become THE place to go for 'instant wisdom', which seems a bit disturbing, given that most of the quotes there and certainly most of the popular ones are pseudo-profound ramblings that often find their way to Facebook (e.g. "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"). While it is sometimes useful and meaningful to quote a certain work of fiction or nonfiction or even an independent saying that exists just for the sake of being quoted, the huge obsession with quotes in society seems a little absurd and perhaps points towards a type of immaturity in many people, choosing short, often out-of-context, bites of thought to replace genuine reflection and offer shallow inspiration. Many do not even consider the questions or issues raised in the quotes themselves at all, instead sharing them online for the sake of getting likes and, if they're lucky, comments. Do you think quotes are in any way useful for intellectual or 'spiritual' development or are they just unusable sentences that offer nothing but short-term amusement?

Love the quote in your current sig: "Give a monkey a brain and he'll swear he's the center of the universe." Is that the sort of thing you're talking about?

Well, as I said, I think quotes are often useful. If this quote came here as a result of a search for 'meaning of life quotes' or 'atheism quotes' or anything like that done just because I was searching for a witty quote for my sig, it would be an act of hypocrisy on my part. Instead, I found it saved in Evernote for personal use.

Ah, that clears it up, sort of. Is it safe to assume that your signature is not an example of short, often out-of-context, bites of thought to replace genuine reflection and offer shallow inspiration that offer nothing but short-term amusement?

I like the idea of using short, pithy bon mots even though I disagree with the point some of them are attempting to crystalise. "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" might sound trite to you, but I think the advice can be helpful. In fact, I am currently trying to do just that since it became obvious a couple of months ago that my father was about to die, and even more so since he did die on Thursday morning. I think I'll use it at the wake on Saturday. It encapsulates what all us family members and friends will need to do, especially my stepmother who shared his life for 40 years.

[TheGreatGatsby]

In recent times, internet quote sites have become THE place to go for 'instant wisdom', which seems a bit disturbing, given that most of the quotes there and certainly most of the popular ones are pseudo-profound ramblings that often find their way to Facebook (e.g. "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"). While it is sometimes useful and meaningful to quote a certain work of fiction or nonfiction or even an independent saying that exists just for the sake of being quoted, the huge obsession with quotes in society seems a little absurd and perhaps points towards a type of immaturity in many people, choosing short, often out-of-context, bites of thought to replace genuine reflection and offer shallow inspiration. Many do not even consider the questions or issues raised in the quotes themselves at all, instead sharing them online for the sake of getting likes and, if they're lucky, comments. Do you think quotes are in any way useful for intellectual or 'spiritual' development or are they just unusable sentences that offer nothing but short-term amusement?

Love the quote in your current sig: "Give a monkey a brain and he'll swear he's the center of the universe." Is that the sort of thing you're talking about?

Well, as I said, I think quotes are often useful. If this quote came here as a result of a search for 'meaning of life quotes' or 'atheism quotes' or anything like that done just because I was searching for a witty quote for my sig, it would be an act of hypocrisy on my part. Instead, I found it saved in Evernote for personal use.

Ah, that clears it up, sort of. Is it safe to assume that your signature is not an example of short, often out-of-context, bites of thought to replace genuine reflection and offer shallow inspiration that offer nothing but short-term amusement?

I like the idea of using short, pithy bon mots even though I disagree with the point some of them are attempting to crystalise. "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" might sound trite to you, but I think the advice can be helpful. In fact, I am currently trying to do just that since it became obvious a couple of months ago that my father was about to die, and even more so since he did die on Thursday morning. I think I'll use it at the wake on Saturday. It encapsulates what all us family members and friends will need to do, especially my stepmother who shared his life for 40 years.

Well, we all have different quote tastes, what I see as the main problem is people's obsession with the whole concept of quoting people they have never even heard of and how massively popular this phenomenon has become. In fact, there may even be the danger of people being desensitized to quotes, failing to connect the massive amount of quoted information to their actual life.

[Hermit]

what I see as the main problem is people's obsession with the whole concept of quoting people they have never even heard of and how massively popular this phenomenon has become. In fact, there may even be the danger of people being desensitized to quotes, failing to connect the massive amount of quoted information to their actual life.

You may be associating with the wrong people.

At any rate, I don't think that the massive amount of quotes leads to desensitisation or a failure to connect the massive amount of quoted information to actual life. It's the other way around. People resort to clichés because they have not been brought up to think. Platitude-riddled speech is a symptom, not a cause.

[Robert_S]

In recent times, internet quote sites have become THE place to go for 'instant wisdom', which seems a bit disturbing, given that most of the quotes there and certainly most of the popular ones are pseudo-profound ramblings that often find their way to Facebook (e.g. "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"). While it is sometimes useful and meaningful to quote a certain work of fiction or nonfiction or even an independent saying that exists just for the sake of being quoted, the huge obsession with quotes in society seems a little absurd and perhaps points towards a type of immaturity in many people, choosing short, often out-of-context, bites of thought to replace genuine reflection and offer shallow inspiration. Many do not even consider the questions or issues raised in the quotes themselves at all, instead sharing them online for the sake of getting likes and, if they're lucky, comments. Do you think quotes are in any way useful for intellectual or 'spiritual' development or are they just unusable sentences that offer nothing but short-term amusement?

Love the quote in your current sig: "Give a monkey a brain and he'll swear he's the center of the universe." Is that the sort of thing you're talking about?

Well, as I said, I think quotes are often useful. If this quote came here as a result of a search for 'meaning of life quotes' or 'atheism quotes' or anything like that done just because I was searching for a witty quote for my sig, it would be an act of hypocrisy on my part. Instead, I found it saved in Evernote for personal use.

Aw, I thought I found another Fishbone fan.

Trigger Warning!!!1! :