2,423 books
—
1,100 voters
“To be clear, concluding in brief: there is enough for all. So there should be no more people living in poverty. And there should be no more billionaires. Enough should be a human right, a floor below which no one can fall; also a ceiling above which no one can rise. Enough is as good as a feast—or better.”
― The Ministry for the Future
― The Ministry for the Future
“Ideology, n. An imaginary relationship to a real situation.
In common usage, what the other person has, especially when systematically distorting the facts.
But it seems to us that an ideology is a necessary feature of cognition, and if anyone were to lack one, which we doubt, they would be badly disabled. There is a real situation, that can't be denied, but it is too big for any individual to know in full, and so we must create our understanding by way of an act of the imagination. So we all have an ideology, and this is a good thing. So much information pours into the mind, ranging from sensory experience to discursive and mediated inputs of all kinds, that some kind of personal organizing system is necessary to make sense of things in ways that allow one to decide and to act. Worldview, philosophy, religion, these are all synonyms for ideology as defined above; and so is science, although it's a different one, the special one, by way of its perpetual cross-checking with reality tests of all kinds, and its continuous sharpening of focus. That surely makes science central to a most interesting project, which is to invent, improve, and put to use an ideology that explains in a coherent and useful way as much of the blooming buzzing inrush of the world as possible. What one would hope for in an ideology is clarity and explanatory breadth, and power. We leave the proof of this as an exercise for the reader.”
― The Ministry for the Future
In common usage, what the other person has, especially when systematically distorting the facts.
But it seems to us that an ideology is a necessary feature of cognition, and if anyone were to lack one, which we doubt, they would be badly disabled. There is a real situation, that can't be denied, but it is too big for any individual to know in full, and so we must create our understanding by way of an act of the imagination. So we all have an ideology, and this is a good thing. So much information pours into the mind, ranging from sensory experience to discursive and mediated inputs of all kinds, that some kind of personal organizing system is necessary to make sense of things in ways that allow one to decide and to act. Worldview, philosophy, religion, these are all synonyms for ideology as defined above; and so is science, although it's a different one, the special one, by way of its perpetual cross-checking with reality tests of all kinds, and its continuous sharpening of focus. That surely makes science central to a most interesting project, which is to invent, improve, and put to use an ideology that explains in a coherent and useful way as much of the blooming buzzing inrush of the world as possible. What one would hope for in an ideology is clarity and explanatory breadth, and power. We leave the proof of this as an exercise for the reader.”
― The Ministry for the Future
“Life is something we need to stop correcting. My boy was a pocket universe I could never hope to fathom. Every one of us is an experiment, and we don’t even know what the experiment is testing.”
― Bewilderment
― Bewilderment
“Impermanence underlies experience.”
― Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe
― Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe
“Have a good day, which becomes a great month, which becomes a great year, which becomes a great life.”
― Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption and Hollywood
― Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption and Hollywood
Ender's Jeesh
— 329 members
— last activity Jan 16, 2025 06:35PM
For all those who love the Ender's Game series (and other Orson Scott Card books). ...more
Readers who hike
— 228 members
— last activity Sep 20, 2023 06:20PM
"Bleak as the scene was, though, there was growing joy in Inman's heart. He was nearing home; he could feel it in the touch of thin air on skin, in hi ...more
Existentialism
— 922 members
— last activity Jan 03, 2021 11:51AM
Existentialism is a philosophical movement that claims that individual human beings have full responsibility for creating the meanings of their own li ...more
Historical Info for Historical Fiction Readers
— 1559 members
— last activity Aug 11, 2022 01:41AM
Information about eras past in different parts of the world. Help for readers who may feel lost in an unfamiliar historical setting, may not understan ...more
Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club
— 17346 members
— last activity May 07, 2026 04:05AM
You just found the Official unofficial Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club. We will read the Goodreads Choice Awards winning books throughout the year b ...more
Rob’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Rob’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Rob
Lists liked by Rob









































