Eloise

“Because human beings lived then in a world in which physical strength was the most important attribute for survival; the physically stronger person was more likely to lead. And men in general are physically stronger. (There are of course many exceptions.) Today, we live in a vastly different world. The person more qualified to lead is not the physically stronger person. It is the more intelligent, the more knowledgeable, the more creative, more innovative. And there are no hormones for those attributes. A man is as likely as a woman to be intelligent, innovative, creative. We have evolved. But our ideas of gender have not evolved very much.”
― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, We Should All Be Feminists

“The loo-table, however, did not appear.”
― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

“Why had their parents not explained this to them? Probably because they didn’t understand it themselves. Besides, if I had a nickel for every time I wanted to smack a kid’s parents for not teaching them even the most basic things … well … I’d have enough nickels to put in a sock and smack those parents with it.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“And here lies the essential between Stoicism and the modern-day 'cult of optimism.' For the Stoics, the ideal state of mind was tranquility, not the excitable cheer that positive thinkers usually seem to mean when they use the word, 'happiness.' And tranquility was to be achieved not by strenuously chasing after enjoyable experiences, but by cultivating a kind of calm indifference towards one's circumstances.”
― Oliver Burkeman, The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking