“I like half-truths of a certain kind — they are interesting and they stimulate.”

— Eric Hoffer

Entry (1950)
Eric Hoffer and the Art of the Notebook (2005)
Context: To think out a problem is not unlike drawing a caricature. You have to exaggerate the salient point and leave out that which is not typical. "To illustrate a principle," says Bagehot, "you must exaggerate much and you must omit much." As to the quantity of absolute truth in a thought: it seems to me the more comprehensive and unobjectionable a thought becomes, the more clumsy and unexciting it gets. I like half-truths of a certain kind — they are interesting and they stimulate.

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Eric Hoffer 240

American philosopher 1898–1983

John Fowles book Daniel Martin

Daniel Martin (1977)

“What I find interesting is working in a society with certain taboos — and fashion photography is about that kind of society. To have taboos, then to get around them — that is interesting.”

Helmut Newton (1920–2004) German-Australian photographer

American Photo (January/February 2000), p. 90

“I like to participate in these kinds of things, so hopefully, we can change one life to motivate a kid to stimulate them to study in science and engineering.”

Charles Duke (1935) American engineer, U.S. Air Force officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut

Apollo Astronaut Shares Recollections 45 Years After Moon Landing (Exclusive Interview) https://www.space.com/37115-charlie-duke-apollo-16-exclusive-interview.html (June 7, 2017)

“As I have said many times, for me an artist is a person who says he's an artist, and an artwork is what an artist says is an artwork. Although for myself, I am not interested in ideas as the burden of art.... the important thing about art is how it stimulates us. I think the more you are stimulated by more different kinds of art, the more demanding you're going to become on the level of your stimulation. The key to art is experience of it and proximity to it.”

Carl Andre (1935) American artist

Source: Artists talks 1969 – 1977, p. 14

“I like a certain amount of tension in music…I like the kind of music that maybe makes you think about the status quo.”

Kim Gordon (1953) American musician, bassist of Sonic Youth

On her ideal music in “Kim Gordon unmasked: a natural instinct of going against the grain” https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/kim-gordon-unmasked-a-natural-instinct-of-going-against-the-grain-20190805-p52dxg.html in The Sydney Morning Herald (2019 Aug 9)

“They treat me like a fox, a cunning fellow (Schlaukopf) of the first rank. But the truth is that with a gentleman I am always a gentleman and a half, and when I have to do with a pirate, I try to be a pirate and a half.”

Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898) German statesman, Chancellor of Germany

Talking to Gyula Andrássy in Salzburg on 18 September 1877. As quoted in Disraeli, Gladstone, and the Eastern Question. A Study in Diplomacy and Party Politics (1935) by Robert William Seton-Watson, p. 224 books.google http://books.google.de/books?id=5CPVAAAAMAAJ&q=fox; "Schlaukopf" is translated elsewhere as "clever dick" or "smart aleck."

With deal (instead of do) with a pirate, in Prime Minister Gyula Andrássy's influence on Habsburg foreign policy during the Franco-German War of 1870-1871 (1979) by János Decsy, p. 21 http://books.google.de/books?id=JtUhAAAAMAAJ&q=111

„Man behandelt mich wie einen Fuchs, wie einen Schlaukopf erster Klasse. Die Wahrheit aber ist, qu'avec un gentleman je suis toujours gentleman et demi, et que quand j'ai affaire à un corsaire, je tâche d'etre corsaire et demi"
:Eduard von Wertheimer: Graf Julius Andrássy. Sein Leben und seine Zeit. Vol. III. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt Stuttgart 1914 pp. 42-43 http://books.google.de/books?id=2skhAAAAMAAJ&q=demi
1870s

“An aphorism can never be the whole truth; it is either a half-truth or a truth-and-a-half.”

Karl Kraus (1874–1936) Czech playwright and publicist

Die Fackel no. 270/71 (19 January 1909)
Die Fackel

“Patience and boredom are closely related. Boredom, a certain kind of boredom, is really impatience. You don't like the way things are, they aren't interesting enough for you, so you deccide- and boredom is a decision-that you are bored.”

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and political activist

“I think there's a certain numbness in modern society, that accepts certain kinds of violence, but represses other kinds of violence.”

Nick Cave (1957) Australian musician

Politics, society and humanity

“The measure of fame that I have is kind of like micro fame, relative to a certain kind of community of people. It’s awful. It’s horrible. I wouldn’t wish fame on my worst enemy.”

Natalie Wynn (1988) YouTube personality

ContraPoints Talks Twitter, TERFs, and Tasting the 'Ideal Beer' https://oct.co/essays/natalie-wynn-contrapoints-interview, Interview for October, November 11, 2020
Interviews

“I like half-truths of a certain kind — they are interesting and they stimulate.”

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Eric Hoffer 240

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