Zembla, Zenda, Xanadu
All our dream-worlds may come true.
Fairy lands are fearsome too.
As I wander far from view
Read, and bring me home to you.
- Rushdie, Haroun & The Sea of Stories
Zembla, Zenda, Xanadu
All our dream-worlds may come true.
Fairy lands are fearsome too.
As I wander far from view
Read, and bring me home to you.
"Yet sometimes in the night watch, when the Galaxy unrolled its book across a moonless sky, I knew what we were about, and where Socrates was sending us. ... I would feel my soul climb love as a mountain, which at the foot has wide slopes ... but at the top one peak, to which if you go upward all paths lead; and beyond it, the blue ether where the world swims like a fish in its ocean, and the winged soul lies free. And thence returning, for a while I found nothing created I could not love: the comrade I had been angry with in the day, the [enemy] sitting in [their fort] ... Yet I was not drowsy, nor lost in dreams, but saw the night sparkle like a crystal, and every cony stirring, or the silent owl."
-- Mary Renault, "Last of the Wine"
The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: a human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To them, a touch is a a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create - so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or building or something of meaning, their very breath is cut off from them. They must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency they are not really alive unless they are creating.
Statement | Really means | |
It has long been known... | I haven't bothered to look up the reference. | |
It is thought that... | I think so. | |
It is generally thought that... | A couple of other people think so, too. | |
It is not unreasonable to assume... | If you believe this, you'll believe anything. | |
Of great theoretical importance... | I find it interesting. | |
Of great practical importance... | I can get some good mileage out of it. | |
Typical results are shown. | The best results are shown. | |
Three samples were chosen for further study. | The others didn't make sense, so we ignored them. | |
The second sample was not used. | I dropped it on the floor. | |
Results obtained with the second sample must be interpreted with caution. | I dropped it on the floor but managed to scoop most of it up. | |
Correct within an order of magnitude. | Incorrect. | |
Much additional work will be required. | This paper isn't very good, but neither is anyone else's. | |
These investigations yielded highly rewarding results. | My grant will be renewed. | |
This research was supported by a grant from... | I wonder if the taxpayers know they're paying for this? | |
A line of best fit was drawn using least-squares regression. | I drew it by hand. | |
A non-linear relationship was found. | I drew it by hand and I didn't use a ruler. | |
Stringent controls were implemented. | My advisor was watching. | |
I thank X for assistance with the experiments and Y for useful discussions on the interpretation of the data. | X did the experiment and Y explained it to me. |
Some kill their love when they are young,And some when they are old;
Some strangle with the hands of Lust,
Some with the hands of Gold:
The kindest use a knife, because
The dead so soon grow cold.Some love too little, some too long,
Some sell, and others buy;
Some do the deed with many tears,
And some without a sigh:
For each man kills the thing he loves,
Yet each man does not die.