George Orwell

Why someone else writes

August 6

From a very early age, perhaps the age of five or six, I knew that when I grew up I should be a writer. Between the ages of about seventeen and twenty-four I tried to abandon this idea, but I did so with the consciousness that I was outraging my true nature and that sooner or later I should have to settle down and write books.

~ George Orwell, from Why I write

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Back in 2021 I added this quote to my collection. (I have an ever-growing collection of ~1,500 quotes, which are available as a daily, random, quote-by-email from https://littleboxofquotes.com.) Anyway.

I found it interesting that here I am, 3 years later and my instinct was to pick this exact same bit of text to quote. It feels reassuring that my “what should I pick?” process is reproducible. Also interesting: What I’ve quoted are Orwell’s opening words. For most things I quote, it’s something in the middle that leaps out at me. So perhaps, in addition to showing us why he’s also making a point about how he writes: Start with the good stuff, and then get on to the even better stuff.

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Outrageous

December 15, 2021

From a very early age, perhaps the age of five or six, I knew that when I grew up I should be a writer. Between the ages of about seventeen and twenty-four I tried to abandon this idea, but I did so with the consciousness that I was outraging my true nature and that sooner or later I should have to settle down and write books.

~ George Orwell

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When Should I Admit That I Don’t Understand

May 18, 2013

Too often we are embarrassed to admit that we don’t understand what we are told. We don’t want to appear stupid to the speaker or others in the audience. But more people should ask questions, because others may be just as confused but not want to speak up. There is no shame in not understanding something, and it’s a good lesson to remember that. Asking for clarification not only helps both the speaker and listener communicate more effectively, it is also a powerful tool in revealing bullshit.

~ Ben Bradford from, http://www.csicop.org/sb/show/the_wisdom_of_not_understanding

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Bradford starts off talking about a terrible, new-agey, pseudo-science film which a friend was discussing with him. I’ve had that same conversation, about the same film. So I understand what he’s saying, and I understand the point he’s making. My issue with his assertion is that he doesn’t seem to make the distinction between when one doesn’t understand something versus when one doesn’t understand someone.

Something

This is an important distinction. When one encounters something dubious, confusing, or questionable, (such as the movie What the Bleep Do We Know,) admitting lack of understanding can lead to self-improvement. (yeah!)

[ walking out of a theatre ]
“Craig, what did you think of the movie?”
“Dude, I’m totally confused. How could Rosebud have been [redacted]? How did I miss that?!”
[ …conversation goes on. Happy friend. yeah! ]

Someone

On the other hand, when one encounters someone espousing dubious, confusing, or questionable ideas, one must tread carefully. Unilaterally saying, “I don’t understand,” to friends and family will come across as a back-handed insult. They will interpret, “I don’t understand,” to imply, “you are not making sense,” or worse, “you are stupid.” Bye-bye friends and family. (boo!)

[ entering the coffee shop ]
“Hey Craig, I saw this great movie! It was about a [redacted] named George Orwell and it was looking for some a citizen named Rosebud.”
“Dude, I’m totally confused. How can [redacted] be named George Orwell… I thought he wrote the movie script?”
[ …reflects negatively on friend. Friend is unhappy. boo! ]

Suddenly, (awesome film by the way,) I have to either smile and bear the nonsense, or start picking the nonsense apart bit by bit until my friend realizes they are confused and don’t understand.

I’ve sometimes, (often?,) been accused of lacking social skills. Nay, I suggest that some people’s signal-to-noise ratio is low, and I am simply not interested in fixing everyone I encounter.

(See also Megalomania. But, then, also Imposter Syndrome.)

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