Wanting to Be Able To
July 5, 2023Those Who Know
July 5, 2023Two Passivists
Eradicate the optimist
who takes the easy view
that human values will persist
no matter what we do.
Annihilate the pessimist
whose ineffectual cry
is that the goal’s already missed
however hard we try.
Piet Hein
Piet Hein (1905-1996): A Danish scientist, mathematician, inventor, and poet. He is best known for his "grooks," or short philosophical poems that often feature wordplay and paradoxical ideas.