“One might expect bad behaviour from existentialists – indeed that was what existentialism was all about, was it not?”

— Alexander McCall Smith

but to find this happening on one’s own doorstep was a shock.
Love Over Scotland, chapter 50.
The 44 Scotland Street series

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Alexander McCall Smith55

British writer 1948

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“One might expect bad behaviour from existentialists – indeed that was what existentialism was all about, was it not? – but to find this happening on one’s own doorstep was a shock.”

Alexander McCall Smith (1948) British writer

Love Over Scotland, chapter 50.
The 44 Scotland Street series

“…and what gets me out of bed in the mornings continues to be the expectation of what might happen, all unannounced. I'm always expecting the unexpected, and I still fantasise about what might still be.”

Javier Marías (1951) Spanish writer

...y lo que me hace levantarme por las mañanas sigue siendo la espera de lo que está por llegar y no se anuncia, es la espera de lo inesperado, y no ceso de fantasear con lo que ha de venir.
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“It is possible that efforts to contemplate some risk area—say, existential risk—will do more harm than good. One might suppose that thinking about a topic should be entirely harmless, but this is not necessarily so. If one gets a good idea, one will be tempted to share it; and in so doing one might create an information hazard. Still, one likes to believe that, on balance, investigations into existential risks and most other risk areas will tend to reduce rather than increase the risks of their subject matter.”

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“Don’t ever make the mistake with people like me thinking we are looking for heroes. There aren’t any and if there were, they would be killed immediately. I’m never surprised by bad behaviour. I expect it.”

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“Expectation wasn't just about what people expected of you. It was about what you expected of yourself.”

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“That which we expect of life is indeed all that it ever can be.”

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“When I’m gripped by existential boredom,” Khouri said, “I might try it.””

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