Ilse’s Reviews > Departure > Status Update
Ilse
is on page 125 of 176
I think the great novelists understand love, and most aspects of human behaviour, better than, say, psychiatrists or scientists or philosophers or priests or lonely-hearts columnists.
— Feb 05, 2026 03:10PM
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Ilse’s Previous Updates
Ilse
is on page 19 of 176
The brain only informs us on a need-to-know basis. Think of the world of John le Carré. Think of ourself - our self - as an agent running in the field, being told only part of a much wider picture, just enough for us to behave plausibly and fulfil our functions. 'Control' is running us, but at the same time we 'are' our brains. Even le Carré can't compete with all the complications and subterfuges of this.
— Feb 04, 2026 10:34AM
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Scott wrote: "You're in good company with that thought: "The poets (by which I mean all artists) are finally the only people who know the truth about us. “ —James Baldwin."
Maybe with these quotes both Julian Barnes and James Baldwin give us insight in why we read, Scott? Thank you very much for sharing that beautiful and perceptive reflection of Baldwin!
"The poets (by which I mean all artists) are finally the only people who know the truth about us. “ —James Baldwin.