His eyes were wide, and I could feel the anger in his voice as he rose from his seat. I thought he was going to punch me right in the face as I have never heard him breathe so heavily despite the numerous arguments we've had in the past. It was just the previous week that I taunted John, whom had suffered a black eye as a result of arguing with a diehard fan of Chelsea F.C. So, I moved a safe distance to avoid whatever might come next.
Fighting wasn't an option, and so was silence. I knew I had to say something clever if I wanted to win the argument without getting a black eye like John.
After a careful thought, I told him: "...even Bill Gates said that the only thing worth taking risks for is knowledge."
It was a gamble, but did it work? You will find out soon enough.
Of course, Bill Gates is a great man, and many brilliant quotes have been attributed to him. But before you fall into the abyss of drawing evidence from the quote above, I'd like to inform you it isn't Bill's. As a matter of fact, it is just a combination of words I came up with to prove my point. Personally, I do not believe knowledge is the only thing worth taking risks for. So, please accept my apologies if Bill Gates' name had driven you anywhere close to believing that.
Many a time we project our lives in the direction of the controversial dogma of people we label as scholars. Honestly, I am not trying to defy their scholarship or their scholarly opinions; in fact , I have scholars I hold in high esteem and look up to. However, we should know that no idea or opinion, including theirs, is mistake-proof. They are humans, and are bound to make errors. Emotions, among other factors, could cloud their judgements too.I once saw a post attributed to Paul Dirac. It says: "I do not see how a man can work on the frontiers of physics and write poetry at the same time. They are in opposition."
The disturbing thing about this statement is that I was a passionate student of physics, and I had a strong affinity for poetry too. If the statement had been attributed to someone else, it would have been better. But Paul Dirac was a renowned physicist, and someone I admired. If an experienced physics geek could have said poetry and physics are black and white, who am I to nurse a contrary opinion? I thought. But I was wrong; I had every right to object. After all, opinions are subjective.
Many relationships are at the mercy of the unforgiving dogma of some self-acclaimed relationship experts... Or the pitiable intelligence of some of their fans. Sometimes, we find articles like how to know if your man truly loves you on the internet. You will be surprised to find the number of people who use this as a basis for destroying or keeping their relationships.
Now, let's consider a situation whereby a guy finds the same post on his girlfriend's browser history, and starts acting according to it just to get in bed with her. The lady, on the other hand, would be convinced beyond possible doubt that he truly loves her; hence consent to his request for sex. What do you think might happen once he's got what he wanted?
Please take a moment to consider the sayings below.
1. A. The first bird gets the worm.B.The second mouse gets the cheese.
2. A. Clothes maketh the man.
B. Never judge a book by its cover.
3. A. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
B. Out of sight, out of mind.
4. A. Many hands make light work.
B. Too many cooks spoil the broth.
5. A. Two heads are better than one.
B. Too many cooks spoil the broth.
If we consider the sayings on '1', we would realize that, as is every other pair, they are contradictory. The first one emphasizes the importance of being early while the second advocates the wisdom in being a little bit late.
For clarification, the reason why the second mouse gets the cheese is because the first got caught in the trap, and there is no more trap. But if we apply the trap to the early bird saying, what we get is a dead bird. Nothing more.
As a matter of fact, the contradictory quotes are both right. And that is why it is necessary to make sure every statement we see passes through a thinking process that is guided by our common sense. The trick is just to know which quote is applicable when; and when you understand that, you will realize they aren't really contradictory.
Lest I forget, Bill Gates quote saved me from the impending punch. I could see the look of defeat on his face, but he was not someone to lose an argument either. He kept on arguing, cleverly modifying every detail of his argument until it suited what he thought Gates had said. Till now I do not think he thought about the quote for once. Who knows, he might have used it to back his arguments too.Please share, and let me know what you think in the comments section.