The Marginalian
The Marginalian

Search results for “Brainpickings ten years on”

Nabokov and Homeland Security: How Russia’s Most Revered Literary Émigré Became an American
Nabokov and Homeland Security: How Russia’s Most Revered Literary Émigré Became an American

How a broken lock, a suitcase of dead butterflies, and a pair of boxing gloves became the backdrop of the making of a legend.

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David Foster Wallace on Ambition, Animated
David Foster Wallace on Ambition, Animated

“If your fidelity to perfectionism is too high, you never do anything.”

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The Pale Blue Dot: A Timeless Valentine to the Cosmos
The Pale Blue Dot: A Timeless Valentine to the Cosmos

“The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena.”

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Dorion Sagan on the First Ejaculation in Earth’s History
Dorion Sagan on the First Ejaculation in Earth’s History

“When we hook up with another, in sex or love (or, more rarely, both) we prove that our isolation is not permanent. In the fullness of time, we may all be linked.”

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Famous Resolution Lists: Jonathan Swift, Susan Sontag, Marilyn Monroe, Woody Guthrie
Famous Resolution Lists: Jonathan Swift, Susan Sontag, Marilyn Monroe, Woody Guthrie

“Stay glad. Keep hoping machine running. Love everybody. Make up your mind.”

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E.B. White on the Art of the Essay and Why Egotism Is Essential for the Essay Writer
E.B. White on the Art of the Essay and Why Egotism Is Essential for the Essay Writer

“Only a person who is congenitally self-centered has the effrontery and the stamina to write essays.”

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An Illustrated Tour of All the Buildings in New York
An Illustrated Tour of All the Buildings in New York

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Richard Burton Reads John Donne’s Poem “The Flea”
Richard Burton Reads John Donne’s Poem “The Flea”

“Just so much honor, when thou yield’st to me, Will waste, as this flea’s death took life from thee.”

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Iconic Designer Massimo Vignelli on Intellectual Elegance, Education, and Love
Iconic Designer Massimo Vignelli on Intellectual Elegance, Education, and Love

“Intellectual elegance [is] a mind that is continually refining itself with education and knowledge. Intellectual elegance is the opposite of intellectual vulgarity.”

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The Best Books of 2012: Your 10 Overall Favorites
The Best Books of 2012: Your 10 Overall Favorites

From children’s existential questions to 100 ideas that changed graphic design, by way of Yayoi Kusama and illustrated scientific mysteries.

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