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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   3583 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 5, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

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This is a long shot. I am trying to track down the source of a half-remembered quote I saw on twitter, I believe a screenshot from a book. It went something like this.

Imagine a man who devotes himself to potatoes. He lives his entire life in a room made of potatoes, he sleeps in bed made of potatoes, he eats only potatoes, etc. Now imagine another man who lives a more varied life, who knows a potato, but also knows turnips, onions, cabbage, etc. Which of these men has a greater understanding of the nature of potatoes?

The point being that the first man has no point of reference. Although he has spent far longer with potatoes, he lacks the framing and context that the generalist has. Appreciate any leads on this one!

My instinct is that if I had a question that pertains entirely to potatoes, the nature and properties of potatoes, the potential uses of potatoes, then the first guy is the obvious choice. If I had a question about how potatoes fit into the larger world, or interact with other vegetables, or (obviously) comparing them to similar vegetables, then the second guy wins.

I never saw that specific tweet but I saw a similar one that continued "So this is my essay on why to be truly straight, you need to have sucked a dick..."

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