Words&Dirt

“The love of complexity without reductionism makes art; the love of complexity with reductionism makes science.”

––Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, by Edward O. Wilson, pg. 59

“‘Never seen such tough mountains. This here’s a murder country. This here’s the bones of a country. Wonder if we’ll ever get in a place where folks can live ‘thout fightin’ hard scrabble an’ rocks. I seen pitchers of a country flat an’ green, an’ with little houses like Ma says, white. Ma got her heart set on a white house. Get to thinkin’ they ain’t no such country. I seen pitchers like that.’

Pa said, ‘Wait till we get to California. You’ll see nice country then.’

‘Jesus Christ, Pa! This here is California.'”

––The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, pg. 204