Currently Reading May 23, 2013

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I am currently finishing up Worldly Philosopher: The Odyssey of Albert O. Hirschman by Jeremy Adelman and have found it to be a wonderful book. This is probably one of the few nonfiction books I have read where I did not know anything about the subject. That to me is the beauty of reading such a book because it widens my thought process.

This question to ponder is from the book:

Is a narrow failure necessary for a project to have a wider effectiveness?

To be perfectly honest, I have never even considered this in examining some of the experiences that I have had. Any comments?

 

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Quotes From Franz Kafka

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Austrian writer Franz Kafka

Austrian writer Franz Kafka (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Test yourself by mankind. It makes the doubter doubt, the believer believe.”

“All human error is impatience, a premature breaking-off of methodical procedure, an apparent fencing in of what is apparently at issue.”

“To believe in progress does not mean believing that any progress has yet been made. That would be no real act of belief.”

“A belief like a guillotine, just as heavy, just as light.”

Franz Kafka

I found these quotes in my reading of Worldly Philosopher: The Odyssey of Albert O. Hirschman by Jeremy Adelman. I am up to page 436 and am more intrigued by the man because of his penchant for all knowledge in so many various subjects. Absolutely fascinating!!!

 

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Quote About Ant Colonies

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“If you watch an ant try to accomplish something, you’ll be impressed by how inept it is. Ants aren’t smart, ant colonies are.”

Deborah Gordon

Deborah M. Gordon

Deborah M. Gordon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Stanford University Biologist

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Currently Reading May 17, 2013

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Journal of Development Economics

Journal of Development Economics (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I breezed through this paper Albert O. Hirschman on Economic Evolution By Antonio G. Calfati last evening and it is interesting to see how important the issue of developmental economics developed in Dr. Hirschman’s thinking during his lifetime. I will need to reread this paper as I admittedly did not focus as I needed. The paper also has an excellent bibliography if you would like to explore this subject in more depth.

I truly do not understand this subject as well as I would like to and if any readers have any suggestions on more reading on this please send your readings to me.

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Quote About Thought

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“The elucidation of immediate experience is the sole justification of any thought; and the starting point for thought is the analytical observation of this experience.” (Whitehead, as quoted in Hirschman 1958, p.vii)

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Currently Reading May 16, 2013

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Famous posthumous portrait of Niccolò Machiave...

Famous posthumous portrait of Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This quote is from Worldly Philosopher: the Odyssey of Albert O. Hirschman by Jeremy Adelman. I love this because it really expresses what has occured in Dr. Hirschman’s life up to this point.

“No wonder hindsight seemed to string each opportunity together with a cord of good fortune; fortuna did indeed appear to be smiling on him. A common biographical device relies on turning points and epiphanies as pivots. But plenty of chances are squandered. Others come with expectations that never ripen. And most acquire significance only after the fact, which reminds us that it is what comes later that makes the turning point visible. As Machiavelli instructed his prince, it is equally important to seize opportunities and align the forces of virtu and fortuna on one’s side in order to convert an opportunity into achievement. It was with this Machiavellian esprit that Hirschman relocated once more.

This quote was from page 327 and since I am about halfway through I continue to highly recommend this book. Albert Hirschman is a very interesting person!!!

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