Of all the famous men who ever lived, the one I would most like to have been was Socrates. Not just because he was a great thinker, because I have been known to have some reasonably profound insights myself, although mine invariably revolve around a Swedish airline stewardess and some handcuffs.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker admires Socrates but links his admiration to trivial personal fantasies.
- In plain terms
- I want to be Socrates but I usually think about trivial things.
- What can you take from it?
- Intellectual aspirations often coexist with mundane thoughts.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Who is your intellectual hero?
- How do you balance ego and reality?
Another view
It undermines the value of intellectual heroism.
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