Quote by Christopher Hitchens

It was well said by Jean Tarrou in The Plague, I think that attendance at lectures in an unknown language will help to hone one's awareness of the exceedingly slow passage of time. I once had the experience of being 'waterboarded' and can now dimly appreciate how much every second counts in the experience of the torture victim, forced to go on enduring what is unendurable.

It was well said by Jean Tarrou in The Plague, I think that

Summary

This quote by Jean Tarrou highlights the idea that attending lectures delivered in an unfamiliar language can greatly amplify one's perception of the passage of time. By drawing a comparison to the experience of being "waterboarded," Tarrou suggests that enduring such torture emphasizes the significance and unbearable nature of each passing second. This observation underscores the notion that exposure to situations that stretch our limits allow us to gain deeper insight into the value of time and the suffering endured by others.

Topics

Time Torture Waterboarding

By Christopher Hitchens

Liked the quote? Share it with your friends.

Random Quotations

The formula for success is simple: practice and concentratio

The formula for success is simple: practice and concentration then more practice and more concentration.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias

Success & Failure

Experience has taught us that we have only one enduring weap

Experience has taught us that we have only one enduring weapon in our struggle against mental illness: the emotional discovery and emotional acceptance of the truth in the individual and unique history of our childhood.

Truth Individual Childhood Trauma

Years ago - in the 70s, for about a decade - I carried a cam

Years ago - in the 70s, for about a decade - I carried a camera every place I went. And I shot a lot of pictures that were still life and landscape, using available light.

Life Light Places

One has a greater sense of degradation after an interview wi

One has a greater sense of degradation after an interview with a doctor than from any human experience.

Medical

The only thing that mattered was what you were to do in life

The only thing that mattered was what you were to do in life, and it wasn't about money. It was about teaching, or learning.

Freedom

Man who is he? Too bad, to be the work of God: Too good for

Man who is he? Too bad, to be the work of God: Too good for the work of chance!

Humanity

But I can say that life is good to me. Has been and is good.

But I can say that life is good to me. Has been and is good. So I think my task is to be good to it. So how do you be good to life? You live it.

Good

I used to be really nervous when I sang. Like, when I was a

I used to be really nervous when I sang. Like, when I was a kid starting young, 18 and 19, and my dad really had to sort of push me to start singing in front of people. Ever since I got out there and really started doing it, the only thing I've ever tried to do is just sort of is be myself, you know, never put on a voice. Sing naturally.

Dad

Kill all the rich people. Break up their cars and apartments

Kill all the rich people. Break up their cars and apartments. Bring the revolution home, kill your parents, that's where it's really at.

Home

We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of

We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.

Magic

The most heterogeneous ideas are yoked by violence together;

The most heterogeneous ideas are yoked by violence together; nature and art are ransacked for illustrations, comparisons, and allusions; their learning instructs, and their subtlety surprises; but the reader commonly thinks his improvement dearly bought and, though he sometimes admires, is seldom pleased.

Reading

My biggest fear ever is to be involved in a plane crash, so

My biggest fear ever is to be involved in a plane crash, so when that happened... well, I'm just thankful to be alive. I'm just grateful to be here at all.

Fear