Roberto Grippi

Stupidity has made enormous progress

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“Stupidity has made enormous progress. It is a sun that can no longer be stared at. Thanks to the media, it is no longer even the same,it feeds on other myths, it sells itself a lot, it has ridiculed common sense, it spreads terror around itself.” (Ennio Flaiano – “Ombre grigie”, Corriere della sera, 13 … Read more

Have you ever read Borges?

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“Have you ever read Borges?” Montalbano asked him. “What is that, a book?” Mongiardino replied disgustedly. There are people like that, for whom the question of whether they have read a book is more offensive than the question of whether they were intimate friends with Jack the Ripper. (Andrea Camilleri, Italian writer, The First Investigation … Read more

The tendency of people to impose their own opinions

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“The tendency of people, whether they are rulers or simple citizens, to impose their own opinions and tendencies on others as norms of conduct is so strongly supported by some of the best and worst feelings inherent in human nature that it is almost always restrained only by a lack of power; and since the … Read more

Reading only supplies the mind with material for knowledge

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“Reading only supplies the mind with material for knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read our own.” (John Locke, Essay Concerning Human Understanding) Locke teaches us that reading should be an active process, not a passive one. Only by reading in this way does it become a transformative experience that helps us grow … Read more

The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is …

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In any (social, popular, national) group this happens, and you are banned if you contravene: “The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum. That gives people the sense that there is free thinking going on, while all … Read more

Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult

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To anyone running their own company, I reccommend reading about military strategy, because it shares goals with management: leadership, command of men, results requested by external political forces. “If one has never personally experienced war, one cannot understand why a commander should need any brilliance and exceptional ability. Everything looks simple. Everything in war is … Read more

Video games are a ubiquitous part of almost all children’s and adolescents’ lives

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“Video games are a ubiquitous part of almost all children’s and adolescents’ lives […]. The vast majority of research by psychologists on the effects of “gaming” has been on its negative impact: the potential harm related to violence, addiction, and depression. We recognize the value of that research; however, we argue that a more balanced … Read more

Italy loses wars as if they were …

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A few days ago, Italy lost its European Championship football match to Switzerland. The defeat was experienced as a national tragedy. This reminded me of the following quote (wrongly attributed to Winston Churchill), which suggests that Italy approaches wars with little seriousness and football matches with excessive seriousness and aggression: “Italy loses wars as if … Read more