Patrick Wilken

“Hardin once said: ‘To succeed, planning alone is insufficient. One must improvise as well.”
― Isaac Asimov, Foundation

“Ron’s carefully ruffled hair seemed to wilt with disappointment. ‘You didn’t watch?’ he said faintly, looking from one to the other. ‘You didn’t see me make any of those saves?”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

“If we want to be healthy, we need to eat and move about a little more like our ancient ancestors did. That doesn’t mean we have to eat tubers and hunt wildebeest. It means we should consume a lot less processed and sugary foods and get more exercise. Failure to do that, however, is what is giving us the disorders like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease that are killing us in great numbers. Indeed, as Lieberman notes, medical care is actually making things worse by treating the symptoms of mismatch diseases so effectively that we “unwittingly perpetuate their causes.” As Lieberman puts it with chilling bluntness, “You are most likely going to die from a mismatch disease.” Even more chillingly, he believes that 70 percent of the diseases that kill us could easily be preventable if we would just live more sensibly.”
― Bill Bryson, The Body: A Guide for Occupants

“When I was a boy of seven or eight I read a novel untitled "Abafi" — The Son of Aba — a Servian translation from the Hungarian of Josika, a writer of renown. The lessons it teaches are much like those of "Ben Hur," and in this respect it might be viewed as anticipatory of the work of Wallace. The possibilities of will-power and self-control appealed tremendously to my vivid imagination, and I began to discipline myself. Had I a sweet cake or a juicy apple which I was dying to eat I would give it to another boy and go through the tortures of Tantalus, pained but satisfied. Had I some difficult task before me which was exhausting I would attack it again and again until it was done. So I practiced day by day from morning till night. At first it called for a vigorous mental effort directed against disposition and desire, but as years went by the conflict lessened and finally my will and wish became identical.”
― Nikola Tesla