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Stam Adam

Honestly, I still have no idea what I'm doing here or how to do it effectively

Start hereWhatWhoNow

God, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The Courage to change the things I can change, And the wisdom to know the difference between the two.

— Serenity Prayer, Reinhold Niebuhr

Ignorance is bliss

— Unknown

Stupidity is to think I know a lot, while truly the only thing we (think we) know is that we know almost nothing…

— Unknown

You will never have a greater or lesser dominion than that over yourself...the height of a man's success is gauged by his self-mastery; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment.

— Leonardo Da Vinci

A jack of all trades is a master of none, but often times better than a master of one.

— Unknown

The cost of chasing pleasure & comfort in your 20s, is regret in your 30s (read again)

— Unknown

Another person cannot hurt you without your cooperation; you are hurt the moment you believe yourself to be.

— Epictetus

The minute a person whose word means a great deal to others dare to take the open-hearted and courageous way, many others follow.

— Unknown

Don't criticize what you can't understand

— Bob Dylan, "The Times They Are a-Changin'"

Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity

— Horace Mann

The Truth is something I want to hear, not necessarily say.

— Unknown

This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time.

— Tyler Durden

When you pray for rain u gotta deal with the mud too.

— Unknown

A good man never looks for trouble, yet he's prepared when it finds him.

— Unknown

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.

— Lao Tzu

Be humble after but not during the action.

— Ernest Hemingway

A university is a business; a degree is a consumer product.

— Unknown

Life is not (only) a mystery to solve, but a reality to experience.

— Unknown

A real loser is somebody that's so afraid of not winning, they don't even try.

— Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine

There's no greater waste of time than justifying your action to people who have a life that you don't want

— Unknown

Regret for wasted time is more wasted time

— Unknown

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet.

— Helen Keller

Veritas numquam perit.
Truth never perishes.

— Unknown

the past is just a story we tell ourselves

— Her, Movie.

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance

— Unknown

Be the person uncle Iroh would want you to become

— Anonymous YouTube comment

If you wish to strive for peace of soul and happiness, then believe; if you wish to be a disciple of truth, then inquire.

— Nietzsche, in a letter to his sister

There is too much evidence against supernatural belief. You cannot decide to believe something for which you have no evidence simply because of the positive experience it may provide.

— Sam Harris

Dreams without goals are just dreams. And ultimately, they fuel disappointment.
On the road, to achieving your dreams, you must apply discipline, but more importantly, consistency - because without commitment you'll never start, and without consistency, you'll never finish.

— D.W

Never underestimate the power of denial

— Unknown

10 years of freedom for 50 years of pain, or 10 years of pain for 50 years of freedom - your choice

— Unknown

We are all in this together, but we all die alone

— Gwern

Your boos mean nothing, I’ve seen what makes you cheer

— Rick Sanchez

You always learn a lot more when you're wrong than when you're right.

— Candice Hansen

There are two types of problems: ones that can be solved, and others that cannot... Either way, worrying does not help.

— Unknown

If you never learn how to deal with boredom you will never learn how to enjoy peace and quiet

— YNH, Lex Fridman podcast, min 2:22

Never take the first offer when buying, and never make the initial offer in a negotiation.

— Unknown

When nobody wakes you up in the morning, and when nobody waits for you at night, and when you can do whatever you want. What do you call it, Freedom of Loneliness?

— Unknown

It's not events but our opinion about events that cause us suffering

— Epictetus

We suffer more in imagination than in reality

— Seneca

To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human

— Frans de Waal (?)

The wise warrior avoids the battle

— Sun Tzu

There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way.

— Christopher Morley

The Ethiops say that their gods are flat-nosed and black, While the Thracians say that theirs have blue eyes and red hair. Yet if cattle or horses or lions had hands and could draw, and could sculpt like men, then the horses would draw their gods like horses, and cattle like cattle; and each they would shape bodies of gods in the likeness, each kind, of their own.

— Xenophanes

Easy choices, hard life.
Hard choices, easy life

— Unknown

I can not decide for my future self

— Unknown

Discipline is key, Fuck motivation. you won't experience success if you only put the work in the days you feel like it.

— Unknown

STOP. AND THINK.

— Cartoon from one of Dan Ariely's books

Poverty is not having too little, it is wanting more

— Seneca

Let everything happen to you beauty and terror just keep going, no feeling is final

— Rainer Maria Rilke

Decide the type of person you want to be prove it to yourself with small wins

— James Clear

You don't have to be the brightest candle in the room, you just need to burn longer than anyone else.

— Unknown

The gift of a good liar is making people believe you lack a talent for lying.

— Frank Underwood, S2E6

Don't demand that things happen as you wish, but wish that they happen as they do happen, and you will go on well.

— Epictetus, Enchiridion (Carter translation) Passage 8

Which would be worse; to live as a monster or to die as a good man?

— Shutter Island

I find no better life purpose than to perish in attempting the great and impossible.

— Friedrich Nietzsche

He who is resistant to change is destined to perish

— Hot Rod

Man's task, is... To become conscious of the contents that press upward from the unconscious... As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being

— Carl Jung

A wise old man told me once, ya spend half your life earning and collecting things, and the other half dealing with the loss of things taken away from ya.

— Unknown

Never give up on a dream because of the time it might take you to achieve it, the time's gonna fly by anyway

— Unknown

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances.

— Viktor Frankl

Comparison is the thief of joy.

— Unknown

Discipline is doing what you hate to do but doing it like you love it

— Mike Tyson

ITS TOO DAMN IMPORTANT NOT TO TRY!

— Unknown

You can only be ridden if your back is bent

— Martin Luther King Jr.

No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man.

— Heraclitus

A mind stretched by a new experience can never go back to its former dimensions

— Unknown

We expect that a true lover can understand what we feel and who we are without us speaking, we need them to read our souls

— 18.10.2021

Someone with half your IQ is making 10x as you because they are not smart enough to doubt themselves

— Unknown

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.

— Plato

It's easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission from others

— Unknown

All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.

— Blaise Pascal

Most people, even though they don't know it, are asleep. They're born asleep, they live asleep, they marry in their sleep, they breed children in their sleep, they die in their sleep without ever waking up. They never understand the loveliness and the beauty of this thing that we call human existence.

— Anthony De Mello

You are using the excuse of passion to disguise your inability to tolerate hardness

— Alex Hormozi

To live is to suffer, to survive is to find meaning in that suffering

— Nietzsche

The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of a doubt, what is laid before him.

— Leo Tolstoy

Sometimes you gotta play the role of a fool, to fool the fool, who thinks they are fooling you

— Al Capone

When one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion.

— Robert Pirsig, Lila (1991)

If you've endured some good old hardship and discomfort, just like our ancestors did before us, the perks of modern day life that we so easily take for granted feel once again like luxuries.

— GeoWizard

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes.

— Marcel Proust

Whatever you're thinking about is less important than you think it is while you're thinking about it.

— Daniel Kahneman

If you ask a lantern what its eye sees, it will say everything is flooded with light.

— The Last Jew, Yoram Kaniuk

Your soul is like water; when it's troubled it's hard to see, but when you let it settle, everything becomes clear.

— Master Oogway

Anxiety is a feeling of paranoia, when thoughts shape reality.

— Unknown

The essence of a person's soul
is found in new experiences.

— Unknown

Homo sapiens misses the main point: since the cognitive revolution, there is no longer such a thing as a "natural way of life" — all that exists are different cultural choices, out of an enormous range of possibilities.

— Yuval Noah Harari, 23.9.2021

We are stardust that awoke to life, and then received from the universe the powers to understand itself
and this is only the beginning.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson

He who lives in the past is dead in the present.

— Baruch Assoulin the Legend, 6.8.2022

The late Nanrei Kobori, head of the Shining Dragon monastery, a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, said: God is an invention of man, therefore the nature of God is only a shallow mystery. The deep mystery is the nature of man.

— Traces from the Past, page 19, Jan 20 2022

Regret piles up around us like books we never read.

— Unknown

I'm not afraid of the unknown after death; after all, if my non-existence in the past didn't frighten me, I have nothing to fear from my non-existence in the future.

— Unknown

The universe is lazy, and it will always seek the most efficient and simplest path (the question is — the path to what?).

— Unknown

A person's most 'certain' knowledge is the product of his consciousness, his thoughts and his experiences.

— Unknown

From Jaffa to Athens, every shark or tuna
they all want the same thing...
Every morning they wake up
and wait for happiness
in a long line that never ends
yes, yo, one waits for the mailman
another for a raise
and I wait for the dawn to break
and for things to sort themselves out
reasons, excuses, justifications
and everyone waits, waits
and only time waits for no one...

— Unknown

Time is both friend and foe.

— a song, Beit HaBubot

There are 3 things certain in life: death, taxes, and the fact that TikTok is a shitty app.

— Oren from Levys Fitness

We are never as defenseless against suffering as when we are in love.

— Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents, p.91

All people are miserable; some don't have what they want, and that's the cause of their misery. Others got what they wanted, but no longer want it — they already want other things, and so they too are miserable.

— François de La Rochefoucauld

Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.

— Unknown

A rather poor memory is one that works only backward.

— Unknown

The cruelest lies are most often told in silence.

— Unknown

When curiosity overcame fear, humans advanced.

— Unknown

The kingdom of God is within man — not in one man or a group of people, but in every person — in you, little man with big hopes.

— Unknown

Just a cog in a machine.

— a song, Plutnik

The brain is the arbiter of the fear response; fear can spur action but can also paralyze a person into stillness and thoughtlessness.

— Unknown

Nature is built upon fractal systems.

— Unknown

Look at yourself, at the light and the dark — in order to know and understand yourself, and learn to cope with both so you can live with yourself in peace.

— Unknown

How can happiness be constant, when the brain that creates it never stops changing? (due to changes in the environment too)

— Unknown

You cannot suffocate forbidden desire.

— Unknown

Never misjudge other people's capacity to disappoint you.

— Unknown

A person shouldn't tell himself — I failed because all of life's conditions were against me, and I lived a hard life. A person should tell himself — even though all of life's conditions were against me, and even though I had every reason in the world not to succeed — I nonetheless succeeded against all odds and reached where I've reached.

— Unknown

We shouldn't be surprised to discover order and causality in nature, since from the outset we set out to look only for them.

— Tzvi Yanai, A Journey to the Consciousness of Nature, p.10

boredom is the root of all evil

— Søren Kierkegaard

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

— Marcel Proust

Listen Morty, I hate to break it to you, but what people calls "love" is just a chemical reaction that compels animals to breed. It hits hard, Morty, then it slowly fades, leaving you stranded in a failing marriage. I did it. Your parents are gonna do it. Break the cycle, Morty. Rise above. Focus on science.

— Rick Sanchez

Don't concern yourself with what was, concern yourself with what is.

— Monk Ghiatzo

Instead of seeing what they want you to see, open yourself up to the possibilities.

— King Bumi (as a child)

Harsh words won't solve problems, action will.

— Aang

You have the power to reshape your own destiny.

— Aunt Wu

Being a man is knowing where you're needed the most.

— Hakoda

If a fish lives it's whole life in this river, does he know the river's destiny? No! Only that it runs on and on, out of his control. He may follow where it flows, but he cannot see the end. He cannot imagine the ocean.

— Jeong Jeong

With fierce determination, passion and hard work, you can accomplish anything. Raw talent alone is not enough.

— Master Paaku

We're all living together, even if most folks don't act like it. We all have the same roots, and we are all branches of the same tree.

— Hugh (The Swamp)

There is a simple honor in poverty.

— Iroh

You must never give in to despair. Allow yourself to slip down that road and you surrender to your lowest instincts. In the darkest of times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength.

— Iroh

No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are.

— Ursa

Sometimes the best way to solve your own problems is to help someone else.

— Iroh

There is nothing wrong with letting people who love you help you.

— Iroh

Sharing tea with a complete stranger is one of life's true delights.

— Iroh

Pride is not the opposite of shame, but it's source. True humility is the only antidote to shame.

— Iroh

I believe people can change their mind if they want to. I believe in second chances.

— Iroh

Being on your own isn't always your best path.

— Zuko

Life happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not.

— Iroh

While it is always best to believe in oneself, a little help from others can be a great blessing.

— Iroh

It's time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the big questions: who are you, and what do you want?

— Iroh

You must gain balance within yourself before you can bring balance to the world.

— Guru Pathik

The greatest illusion of this world is the illusion of separation. Things you think are separate and different are actually one and the same.

— Guru Pathik

Perfection and power are overrated I think you are very wise to choose happiness and love.

— Iroh

I don't know the answer. Sometimes life is like this dark tunnel. You can't always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep moving you will come to a better place.

— Iroh

No one can give you your honor. It's something you earn for yourself by choosing to do what's right.

— Zuko

Destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out, but if you keep an open mind and an open heart, I promise you will find your own destiny someday.

— Iroh

You're going to fail a lot before things work out. Even though you'll probably fail over and over and over again, you have to try every time. You can't quit because you're afraid you might fail.

— Zuko

Revenge is like a 2 headed rat viper. While you watch your enemy go down, you're being poisoned yourself.

— Aang

It's easy to do nothing, but it's hard to forgive.

— Aang

Forgiveness is the first step you have to take to begin healing.

— Aang

The true mind can weather all the lies and illusions without being lost. The true heart can tough the poison of hatred without being harmed. Since beginningless time, darkness thrives in the void, but always yields to purifying light.

— Lion Turtle

Time is an illusion and so is death

— Huu

A powerful man is still a man.

— S.A.

The deepest regrets stem from the adventures and risks we never explored.

— S.A.

Almost all human problems diminish when viewed against the cosmic scale.

— S.A.

The pursuit of truth comes with a side effect: a destination not worth the journey.

— S.A.

What was avoided remains unknown,
and what has happened is already fixed.

— S.A.

No matter how much knowledge you accumulate, the unknown will always outweigh the known. Every book we add to our shelf adds an entire library beside it.

— S.A. [ChatGPT 4o helped with the second part]

If love exists within me, I have always been captive to it.

— S.A.

Dosage, timing, persistence, and luck — these are the elements that shape your life.

— S.A.

boredom is a luxury

— S.A.

Do not be yet 'another for many', aspire to be ,the one and only for a few'.

— S.A
All quotes
NowUpdated 13.09.2026

Reading

  • An intellectual history of psychology - Daniel Robinson
  • Cognitive Science: Intro to the Science of the Mind - Jose Luis Bermudez

Exploring

  • Consciousness and subjective experience
  • Philosophy of mind
  • Artificial intelligence
  • The History of Cognitive Science
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