"I hope kids are still finding some way, despite Google and Wikipedia, of not knowing things. Learning how to transform mere ignorance into mystery, simple not knowing into wonder, is a useful skill. Because it turns out that the most important things in this life — why the universe is here instead of not, what happens to us when we die, how the people we love really feel about us — are things we’re never going to know."

"Think of it this way. When some folks go out of their way to show off their defiance and rebellion, others go out of their way to publicly squash such rebellion, to assert their dominance. But if you are not overtly rebellious, you can get away with a lot of abstract idea rebellion — few folks will even notice such deviations, and fewer still will care. So, ask yourself, do you want to look like a rebel, or do you want to be a rebel?"

"Last month Jane Bennett gave a talk at New York’s New School entitled “Powers of the Hoard: Artistry and Agency in a World of Vibrant Matter”. She was interested in the question of whether or not compulsive hoarders have a particular affinity for matter, specifically, the matter of/in the things they so assiduously collect. The purpose of this post is to ask a similar question about trumpet players and their mouthpieces. Some have only a few, while others have hundreds."

Stanley Owen Green (22 February 1915 – 4 December 1993), known as the Protein Man, was a sandwich man who became a well-known figure in London, England, during the latter half of the 20th century.[1]<br />
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For 25 years, Green patrolled Oxford Street in the West End, carrying a placard that advocated "Less Lust, By Less Protein: Meat Fish Bird; Egg Cheese; Peas Beans; Nuts. And Sitting," though the wording—and punctuation—changed slightly over the years. Arguing that protein made people lustful and aggressive, his solution was "protein wisdom," a low-protein diet for "better, kinder, happier people."[2] For a few pence, passers-by could buy his 14-page pamphlet, Eight Passion Proteins with Care, which reportedly sold 87,000 copies over 20 years, its front cover observing, "This booklet would benefit more, if it were read occasionally."[3]

"You might say that what looks at first like common sense is David Remnick’s most winning eccentricity."<br />
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[via: http://tumble77.com/post/4526059297/you-might-say-that-what-looks-at-first-like-common ]

"John Stuart Mill argued that eccentricity – that is, the freedom of individuals to be eccentric, to express themselves eccentrically, to hold and propound eccentric ideas and to do eccentric things – was not only a hallmark of a free society, but a necessary feature of any progressive society: new ideas, after all, can only be borne from innovation and experimentation, and old ideas (or values or habits) that are not or are no longer good (however defined) can only be revealed as such when some are willing to reject the old in favor of the new, and this is the province of eccentricity. He also argued, however, that there is a tendency in the mass of any population to recoil against eccentricity – regarding expressions or demonstrations of eccentricity as ‘weird’ or ’strange’ or ‘dangerous’ – and to actively or (more insidiously) passively discourage eccentric behavior or action or speech."

"In Colombia, an eccentric former Bogota mayor may win the presidency. Antanas Mockus, the son of Lithuanian immigrants, is trying to succeed Alvaro Uribe, a U.S.-backed hard-liner who was prevented from running for a third term. However, Mockus, whose trademark is an Amish-style beard, is better known for his antics than his politics."

"In 1938, he accepted his first American position as a scholarship holder at Princeton University. At this time, he began to develop the habit of traveling from campus to campus. He would not stay long in one place and traveled back and forth among mathematical institutions until his death.

'"Oh Lord, pâtissiers are terrible, so rigid and incapable of teamwork," says Dominique Le Stanc, who won two Michelin stars as executive chef of the Negresco in Nice. "They are très spéciale," he adds, a nonspecific but severe French critique.'

Isabella Blow, discoverer of Alexander McQueen and Philip Treacy, wearer of the extravagant, darling of the beau monde, loved fashion more than life. But by the end, even fashion couldn’t save her.
By Amy Larocca. Published Jul 16, 2007.

Encounters with modern follies

A profile of Grigory Perelman, who's just turned down the Clay prize for his proof of the Poincaré conjecture. He might not want his Fields Medal either