Quotes and thoughts for the day

[Carol Dee]

 

[flowerbug]

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i have a stack of flat stones like that on a shelf here. they need to be dusted...

 

[Pulsegleaner]

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Japanese proverb
"Chiri mo tsumoreba yama to naru"

"Even dust amassed will grow into a mountain"


Another of my odd musings from this morning.

It suddenly occurred to me that the moral of the Aesop's fable "The Tortoise and the Hare" doesn't actually really MATCH the actual story. We all SAY the moral is "slow and steady wins the race" because that is the moral that Aesop TELLS us is the moral. But the Hare doesn't lose the race because he isn't pacing himself, he loses by goofing off. So a better moral might be "Don't slack off, even when you have the advantage.". If Aesop had REALLY wanted to get the moral he proposed to be correct then the story should really have the hare starting the race with all guns blazing, then getting himself winded because he used up too much energy and falling behind the tortoise.

 

[digitS']

"slow and steady wins the race" because that is the moral that Aesop TELLS us is the moral. But the Hare doesn't lose the race because he isn't pacing himself, he loses by goofing off. So a better moral might be "Don't slack off, even when you have the advantage."

Reading a little about the Tortoise and the Hare in Wikipedia - there appears to be several interpretations and re-writings of the fable. If we start with the Hare arrogantly bullying the Tortoise - We could also be led to the "don't slack off" conclusion.

In his harebrained way, the Hare has few skills beyond the physical one he was born with. Let us imagine that he was very good at bullying others and admired by some because of it. So, he continued until the Tortoise decided to show him and the world that slow and steady are attributes. Perhaps, surprising even himself, he wins the race!

Here's a LINK (if'n I do this right ) to a picture of a statue in NY City. I like the statue, it reminds me of the mural that surrounded our city's children's library interior walls when I was a kid - all Aesop's Fables . It would be a more poignant image if it had a goal post. ALSO, the artist could have put the Hare's back feet on top of the Tortoise and yet the Tortoise's head crosses the finish line before the Hare.

That would better show Carol Dee's thought for Mar 2, 2022 (link) by showing the reverse of that truism: Cruelty is Ugly and Assuredly can Fail.

Steve

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Reading a little about the Tortoise and the Hare in Wikipedia - there appears to be several interpretations and re-writings of the fable. If we start with the Hare arrogantly bullying the Tortoise - We could also be led to the "don't slack off" conclusion.

In his harebrained way, the Hare has few skills beyond the physical one he was born with. Let us imagine that he was very good at bullying others and admired by some because of it. So, he continued until the Tortoise decided to show him and the world that slow and steady are attributes. Perhaps, surprising even himself, he wins the race!

Here's a LINK (if'n I do this right ) to a picture of a statue in NY City. I like the statue, it reminds me of the mural that surrounded our city's children's library interior walls when I was a kid - all Aesop's Fables . It would be a more poignant image if it had a goal post. ALSO, the artist could have put the Hare's back feet on top of the Tortoise and yet the Tortoise's head crosses the finish line before the Hare.

That would better show Carol Dee's thought for Mar 2, 2022 (link) by showing the reverse of that truism: Cruelty is Ugly and Assuredly can Fail.

Steve

Your version actually sounds closer to a European variant fable called "The Hare and the Hedgehog". In that, the hare really IS a bully and a braggart about being the fastest, and puts down the hedgehog so much that he challenges him to a race. The hedgehog then wins the race via a clever trick (the race is being held in a furrow in a field the hedgehog convinces his wife to stand at the end of the furrow. When the race goes off, the hedgehog hides behind a stone. When the hare is almost at the finish line, the hedgehog's wife pops up. Since all hedgehogs look more or less alike, the hare assumes it is the hedgehog and, appalled, immediately challenges him to another race back. Of course, as he gets back to the beginning, the hedgehog pops up, and the hare ends up running back and forth and back and forth until he collapses from exhaustion and yields. Moral: Physical ability is no match for cleverness.

 

[digitS']

@Pulsegleaner ,

I think that the Hare's own failings result in his loss. The Tortoise is simply doing his best and, in this case, it was good enough.

He was not being clever - not recruiting help. In the future, the Hare may continue to have some triumphs, perhaps, but they will be overshadowed by abysmal failures.

Steve

 

[Marie2020]

And more

"If you achieve your goal, you didn't set the bar high enough."
"Just because something is logically impossible doesn't mean you don't have to do it."

Or Never stop trying

 

[flowerbug]

Reading a little about the Tortoise and the Hare in Wikipedia - there appears to be several interpretations and re-writings of the fable. If we start with the Hare arrogantly bullying the Tortoise - We could also be led to the "don't slack off" conclusion.

In his harebrained way, the Hare has few skills beyond the physical one he was born with. Let us imagine that he was very good at bullying others and admired by some because of it. So, he continued until the Tortoise decided to show him and the world that slow and steady are attributes. Perhaps, surprising even himself, he wins the race!

Here's a LINK (if'n I do this right ) to a picture of a statue in NY City. I like the statue, it reminds me of the mural that surrounded our city's children's library interior walls when I was a kid - all Aesop's Fables . It would be a more poignant image if it had a goal post. ALSO, the artist could have put the Hare's back feet on top of the Tortoise and yet the Tortoise's head crosses the finish line before the Hare.

That would better show Carol Dee's thought for Mar 2, 2022 (link) by showing the reverse of that truism: Cruelty is Ugly and Assuredly can Fail.

Steve

i really like that statue and the patina on it.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Or Never stop trying

That might be a more positive interpretation, but remember these are sort of my "anti-advice" sayings; the various credos I developed that explain why I am so miserable.

The first one is basically saying that, if you set a goal and actually achieve it, you have no right to feel any sense of pride or accomplishment, because the fact that you WERE able to do it means the goal you set was too easy. If you had set a PROPER goal, you would have failed, by definition.

As for the second, it doesn't mean keep trying, it means that one has an obligation to do things even if there really IS no way to do them, that the fact that they actually ARE impossible doesn't let you out of being a failure for not being able to do them.

 

[digitS']

A measure of moderation is needed, @Pulsegleaner .