Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

> When someone quotes a great author [it is for] the larger meaning of some story signified by that sentence.

That doesn't work when people are exchanging ideas on a forum and not everyone has read the same body of work. Because of the difficulty inherent in estimating who has read what, it is usually smart to avoid arguments "from the arts".

> allowing us to use quotes as "pointers" to ideas much larger than anything we could state briefly.

Larger than you could state briefly. Plus, aphorisms exist to fill in the gap you're talking about - all the benefits of brevity without the need for previous literary knowledge.

The excerpt you quoted reads like a boring story about a character that suffers from an affectation that makes him (her?) obsessed with trying to find reasons for using words loosely. I also didn't understand what he/she meant by "there's glory for you" even after the supposed explanation of what "glory" means in Dumpty's head.



Humpty isn't really about using words _loosely_:

"'If you can see whether I'm singing or not, you've sharper eyes than most,' Humpty Dumpty remarked severely."

If you think "Alice In Wonderland" is boring, you're missing out.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: