Thursday, July 30, 2009

Hesitation

Make up your mind to act decidedly and take the consequences. No good is ever done in this world by hesitation.
-- Thomas H. Huxley

Spoken like a true extrovert.
But I guess it's true if we accept the premise that there exists no such thing as a wrong impulse or decision, which could have been changed be a little hesitation.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Spoken like my band teacher. Scenario: you've got to come in fortissimo after a long rest, and you're a little lost as to where in the piece you are. He always said that you may as well be bold and a least have a chance of being right than timid and guaranteed to be wrong.

Michael Burton said...

I hesitate to tell you what I think of this quote.

neeraj said...

I hesitate to tell you what I think of this quote.

Me, too. It would be a long answer. So, I only quote (as I remember it) an aphorism by Hoimar von Dithfurt, in German:

"Ein paar Minuten Nachdenken
ersparen viele Gedenkstunden."

Trying to say it in English:

A few minutes of thoughtfulness avoid many hours of commemorating (for example about the victims of a war).

Of course there are other aspects, too - trying to express a deeper truth is always paradoxical.

Anonymous said...

Spoken like a true extrovert.

Or like someone who wishes they were.

I hesitate to tell you what I think of this quote.

Yeah, keep hesitating, please.

Me, too. It would be a long answer.

As with poetry, everyone thinks they can be a philosopher.

Anonymous said...

"As with poetry, everyone thinks they can be a philosopher."

And if they cared what you think nobody would ever try.

I can't say I'd ever call hesitancy a virtue, though it's an issue of semantics. For somebody that's crippled by their own doubts I'd highly suggest they embrace the other extreme for a while to break the pattern. Aside from that, acting without thought is only wise if you've honed your instincts. A thoughtless life is rarely long.

Anonymous said...

And if they cared what you think nobody would ever try.

It's funny, you for some reason think the whole world cares what you think. No one does. No one at all. You come across as some snot nosed 15 year old who knows nothing of life.

Anonymous said...

A thoughtless life is rarely long.

The opposite must be true, considering how long you've lasted. Sort of like "The Man Who Knew Too Little." Ignorance truly must be bliss. (As long as you never wise up and realize how clueless you are.)