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comment by thenewgreen
thenewgreen  ·  2566 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The 23rd Semi-Occasional Quote Thread

A Kurt Vonnegut quote, by way of Derek Sivers via the "Tools of Titans:"

"There's this beautiful Kurt Vonnegut quote that's just a throwaway line in the middle of one of his books, that says, "We are whatever we pretend to be."





lil  ·  2565 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Anyone have a copy of Vonnegut's Mother Night around? I think the epigraph is, "You become what you pretend to be."

Mother Night is about a US spy who became the head of propaganda for the Nazis in WW2.

blackbootz  ·  2565 days ago  ·  link  ·  

What do you think of Tools of Titans?

And that quote gets at something. For the aspirational among us, it speaks to the faking until making. But I don't know if the quote applies to the lazy or listless. Do they pretend to be anything?

thenewgreen  ·  2561 days ago  ·  link  ·  
This comment has been deleted.
thenewgreen  ·  2561 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It's fine as a coffee table book. It's not narrative, so it's not something I would suggest "reading" cover to cover. It's more of a "tool." -You can read on a topic, where you need assistance. It's a fine collection of anecdotes and suggestions/insights.