“By contrast, what did I have to offer? Nothing really. Less now. I was more like a curious stone that is picked up, carried a while, and finally dropped again with the realization that for all its interesting look, it is nothing more than hardened earth.”
― The Wise Man's Fear
― The Wise Man's Fear
“The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.”
― Animal Dreams
― Animal Dreams
“It is hard to overstate the biological significance of obsessions, compulsions and the psychological mechanisms that produce them. On the one hand, compulsions bear striking similarities to various repetitive, ritualized behaviors observed in other animals --including self-grooming, food inspection and washing, and checking for predators. On the other hand, cultural rituals --which also share several features with OCD symptoms-- perform a range of important functions in human societies, from group coordination in social and religious ceremonies to the transmission of knowledge between generations.”
― Evolutionary Psychopathology: A Unified Approach
― Evolutionary Psychopathology: A Unified Approach
“I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the mind's door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who is going to make amends.”
― Slouching Towards Bethlehem
― Slouching Towards Bethlehem
“To plot is to live. […] We start out lives in chaos, in babble. As we surge up into the world, we try to devise a shape, a plan. There is dignity in this. Your whole life is a plot, a scheme, a diagram. It is a failed scheme but that's not the point. To plot is to affirm life, to seek shape and control. Even after death, most particularly after death, the search continues. Burial rites are an attempt to complete the scheme, in ritual. Picture a state funeral, Jack. It is all precision, detail, order, design. The nation holds its breath. - (WN 292)”
― White Noise: Text and Criticism
― White Noise: Text and Criticism
Open as in book
— 61 members
— last activity Apr 07, 2020 03:39PM
A place to discuss books that challenge us as we navigate the world of advocacy, policy and action for open access scholarship and education.
LessWrong
— 584 members
— last activity Dec 18, 2016 12:38AM
Users of Less Wrong, a community blog dedicated to refining the art of human rationality.
Effective Altruists
— 653 members
— last activity Mar 16, 2025 02:47PM
Recommend books, see what other people are reading, start a discussion, what have you. N.B. This group is not actively moderated and doesn't have any ...more
The Study of the Mind: A Psychological Book Club
— 2134 members
— last activity Sep 12, 2023 04:49AM
This is a book club for those who love to read books about Psychology! Each month we will pick a book dealing with psychological topics, read it, and ...more
Sentientism
— 251 members
— last activity 4 hours, 30 min ago
"Sentientism is an ethical philosophy that grants degrees of moral consideration to all sentient beings. Sentientism extends humanism by showing compa ...more
Yzar’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Yzar’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Yzar
Lists liked by Yzar











































