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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
This is petty, but I'm frustrated that this author, in an effort to praise Elon Musk, incorrectly attributed the entire concept of "reusable space shuttles" to him.
"NASA scientists were always convinced that space shuttles could only be used once, which was a tremendously expensive accepted truth that had lingered since NASA's early days. This continued all the way up until the moment when Musk informed them that there was no reason not to build a shuttle that could be launched multiple times into space"
In reality, Elon Musk was born in 1971, while NASA's design for the reusable, crewed Space Shuttle was proposed in 1969, and the first crewed Space Shuttle launched (and landed back on earth!) in 1981. I'm assuming the author was confused and meant to describe Musk's very successful work in reusable launch vehicles, but even then Musk was not the only one to ever think of or work on the idea.
Many of the anecdotes in this book already seemed to lessen the power of the author's point, anyway. (The Musk bit is after the author's ode to the clear, starry sky, "visual silence" "without the disturbance of man-made light", which is currently being disrupted for astronomers by Musk's ever-growing thousands of reflective Starlink satellites.) At this point, I wondered if other anecdotes were also non-factual, and I put the book down. If the author had stuck to his own, fascinating stories, I would have liked this book.
reflective
slow-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Para quem se interessa pelos temas do silêncio, introversão ou mesmo o movimento slow, não vai encontrar nada de novo neste livro. Na verdade, há bastantes chavões mas (quase como sinto que acontece com clichés) quando bem usados ajudam a reforçar o que uma pessoa já sabe, e penso que isso acontece aqui.
Não aprendi nada que não soubesse mas a leitura fez-me reavaliar se tenho conseguido estar verdadeiramente em silêncio e se perante a falta de tal, de forma mais regular, a minha saúde física e mental não se têm ressentido. Assim, fez-me também dar ainda mais valor aos escassos e breves momentos em que consigo ficar em silêncio, sem me fazer sentir absurda por chegar mais cedo ao trabalho, quando não há ninguém, para poder ler, trabalhar ou simplesmente concentrar-me em algo sem todo o burburinho que traz o início normal de um dia de trabalho; e leva-me a tentar esforçar-me mais, para conseguir ter mais momentos desses.
Não aprendi nada que não soubesse mas a leitura fez-me reavaliar se tenho conseguido estar verdadeiramente em silêncio e se perante a falta de tal, de forma mais regular, a minha saúde física e mental não se têm ressentido. Assim, fez-me também dar ainda mais valor aos escassos e breves momentos em que consigo ficar em silêncio, sem me fazer sentir absurda por chegar mais cedo ao trabalho, quando não há ninguém, para poder ler, trabalhar ou simplesmente concentrar-me em algo sem todo o burburinho que traz o início normal de um dia de trabalho; e leva-me a tentar esforçar-me mais, para conseguir ter mais momentos desses.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
A really strong beginning. I love chapter 10 and I found it really motivational and inspiring. It just really got me thinking which is what the point of this book was. I got kind bored in the middle and was just reading to finish, but the end pulled me right back. I could never imagine walking to the South Pole like this man is insane but also makes me want to be more adventurous.
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
"I mean its quiet gravity."
I liked the vignettes and musings, but found them a bit short. The author could have gone a little deeper with his explorations, although some tof the ideas presented were fascinating and I feel we all need a little more silence in our lives.
I liked the vignettes and musings, but found them a bit short. The author could have gone a little deeper with his explorations, although some tof the ideas presented were fascinating and I feel we all need a little more silence in our lives.
I love that I am surrounded by silence and stillness...all I have to do is tap into it, train myself to access it more often. I guess it’s also about defining what silence is for me, as it less an absence of sound than a moment of stillness within.
Reflections on these subjects are fascinating. Listening to Erling’s thoughts and anecdotes was interesting and insightful. His demanding explorative journeys definitely place him in a position of unique experience.
Reflections on these subjects are fascinating. Listening to Erling’s thoughts and anecdotes was interesting and insightful. His demanding explorative journeys definitely place him in a position of unique experience.
Brilliant writing, brilliant topic, brilliant insights. It was an absolute pleasure to read this.
"I peered up to the sky and imagined the man in the moon turning his gaze far north. Far below he could observe thousands, if not millions, of people leaving their tiny houses early in the day only to sit in traffic for a few minutes or an hour. As if in a silent movie. Then they arrive at large buildings, where they remain indoors for eight, ten or twelve hours seated in front of a screen, before returning via the same traffic jam back to their tiny houses. At home, they eat dinner and watch the news on TV at the same time each night. Year after year.
The only difference over time would be that some of those people- perhaps the most ambitious of them- would move to a slightly larger house to spend their nights."
"The philosopher and boredom theorist Blaise Pascal promoted this type of exploration as early as the 1600s: 'All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.' "
"All of those days that came and went- I didn't realize those were life."
"Sure, we are all part of the same continent, but the potential wealth of being an island for yourself is something you carry around with you all the time."
"A few weeks after this book was published in Norway I happened to meet Abramović. We talked about silence and she said the best way to describe it would be to put a blank sheet of A4 paper in a Xerox machine, and then hold the original and copy next to each other. 'That is silence'"
The only difference over time would be that some of those people- perhaps the most ambitious of them- would move to a slightly larger house to spend their nights."
"The philosopher and boredom theorist Blaise Pascal promoted this type of exploration as early as the 1600s: 'All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.' "
"All of those days that came and went- I didn't realize those were life."
"Sure, we are all part of the same continent, but the potential wealth of being an island for yourself is something you carry around with you all the time."
"A few weeks after this book was published in Norway I happened to meet Abramović. We talked about silence and she said the best way to describe it would be to put a blank sheet of A4 paper in a Xerox machine, and then hold the original and copy next to each other. 'That is silence'"