Learning Daily » Quote http://pkrishnan.net Krishnan's weblog - a blog on knowing many things. A scribble pad. A hybrid microblog. Mostly bread crumbs of an internet journey. Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:02:48 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 In medio stat virtus http://pkrishnan.net/in-medio-stat-virtus/ http://pkrishnan.net/in-medio-stat-virtus/#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 05:14:46 +0000 Krishnan http://pkrishnan.net/in-medio-stat-virtus/
  • Temple of the king
    • ]]>     In medio stat virtus:
    Virtue stands in the middle.
    Virtue is in the moderate, not the extreme position.

    - Horace

    Voltaire said :
    The better is the enemy of the good.
    Variant translations:
    The perfect is the enemy of the good.
    The best is the enemy of the good.

    In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle defined a virtue as a balance point between a deficiency and an excess of a trait. The point of greatest virtue lies not in the exact middle, but at a golden mean sometimes closer to one extreme than the other. For example, courage is the mean between cowardice and foolhardiness, confidence the mean between self-deprecation and vanity, and generosity the mean between miserliness and extravagance.

    Virtue, by definition, is a characteristic that promotes individual and collective well being. A vice, on the other hand, does not promote well being. What is surprising to me is that a virtue stands between two vices.

    Now, this is something to think about. The present day paradigm is being the best. We all are told that we have to be the best at what we do. And we even strive for it.
    We give up things just to be the best in what we do. We encourage children to be first in class. In fact our lives are so competitive that we call it a rat race. We drive ourselves hard and get burnt out.
    No wonder this puts things out of perspective. We feel miserable when we cant be the best. We don’t forgive our own mistakes.

    Pushing to extreme cant be a balanced way of life, even if the extreme is perfection. Being the best may be good for business, but it may not be good for the spirit.

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    ]]>     http://pkrishnan.net/in-medio-stat-virtus/feed/ 0     Is this true? http://pkrishnan.net/is-this-true/ http://pkrishnan.net/is-this-true/#comments Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:02:47 +0000 Krishnan http://pkrishnan.net/2009/04/29/is-this-true/
  • Types of knowledge
    • ]]>     An army of sheep following the instructions of a lion has a better chance to win the war as compared to an army of lions following the instructions of a sheep.

    I’m wondering if there is truth in it …

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    ]]>     http://pkrishnan.net/is-this-true/feed/ 0     Quote : Unforgiveness http://pkrishnan.net/quote-unforgiveness/ http://pkrishnan.net/quote-unforgiveness/#comments Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:36:00 +0000 Krishnan http://pkrishnan.net/2008/11/01/quote-unforgiveness/ Unforgiveness is the poison you drink every day hoping that the other person will die.

    - Debbie Ford

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    ]]>     http://pkrishnan.net/quote-unforgiveness/feed/ 0     Henry Wadsworth Longfellow http://pkrishnan.net/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/ http://pkrishnan.net/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/#comments Thu, 01 Nov 2007 16:20:33 +0000 Krishnan http://pkrishnan.wordpress.com/2007/11/01/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/
  • Tasks, in Outlook
    • ]]>     Each day sees a task begin
    Each night sees it close
    Something attempted, something done,
    Has earned a night’s repose.

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    ]]>     http://pkrishnan.net/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/feed/ 0     Food quotes http://pkrishnan.net/food-quotes/ http://pkrishnan.net/food-quotes/#comments Sun, 16 Sep 2007 02:02:27 +0000 Krishnan http://pkrishnan.wordpress.com/2007/09/16/food-quotes/
  • A bug in notepad
  • iPad 3G : User experience
  • A wasted weekend
    • ]]>     I enjoyed reading the following quotes which were written on KLM’s in-flight meal boxes.

    “A smiling face is half the meal – Old proverb”

    “Hungry thought Haiku

    The food was so rich
    That I wanted to save it
    Till I had nothing”

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    ]]>     http://pkrishnan.net/food-quotes/feed/ 0     Heard on TV http://pkrishnan.net/heard-on-tv/ http://pkrishnan.net/heard-on-tv/#comments Fri, 27 Jul 2007 19:46:57 +0000 Krishnan http://pkrishnan.wordpress.com/2007/07/28/heard-on-tv/
  • Heard and enjoyed
    • ]]>     They say, in the state of Texas, “Never let the truth get in the way of a perfectly good story”.

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    ]]>     http://pkrishnan.net/heard-on-tv/feed/ 0     Mama Pendse http://pkrishnan.net/mama-pendse/ http://pkrishnan.net/mama-pendse/#comments Fri, 08 Jun 2007 11:22:39 +0000 Krishnan http://pkrishnan.wordpress.com/2007/06/08/mama-pendse/
  • YouOS
  • Energy ball – Interesting design for a microgeneration device
    • ]]>     Mama Pendse said:

    Whether we are based on carbon or silicon makes no fundamental difference. We should each be treated with appropriate respect.

    Now, I’m thinking….

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    ]]>     http://pkrishnan.net/mama-pendse/feed/ 1     Thought for the day http://pkrishnan.net/thought-for-the-day/ http://pkrishnan.net/thought-for-the-day/#comments Thu, 31 Aug 2006 17:12:56 +0000 Krishnan http://pkrishnan.wordpress.com/2006/08/31/thought-for-the-day/
  • Remembering Gibran
    • ]]>     I read this beautiful piece of writing today and it gave me enough clarity to think through the day.

    • Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles. However, it does empty today of its strength.
    • Keep your head and your heart going in the right direction and you
      will not have to worry about your feet.
    • If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything.

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    ]]>     http://pkrishnan.net/thought-for-the-day/feed/ 0