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The Big Picture

I used to think that if I spent enough time understanding and organizing my ideas, I'd be able to see the big picture, able to lay out a logical and all-encompassing framework in which every idea would have its place.

I don't think so any more. The idea that there's a big picture is certainly an appealing one, but I think that's all it is, an idea that appeals to us because we want the world to make sense.

I do still like to organize ideas, obviously. What's different is that I no longer expect that the framework can be made perfect and logical, or that any greater understanding will come of it. The framework I'm using, a system of hierarchical categories, is just a way of making it easier to find things and talk about things.

I said the same thing in The Mind, but I didn't realize at the time how general it was.

… there's no profound meaning to the whole—it's just a bunch of different parts hooked together so that they work.

 

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@ December (2000)