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Here are some aphorisms I most admire and also use as inspirational models

“…The infinite works of nature…are woven together in a unity filled with marvelous patterns.” Leonardo Da Vinci, my namesake. I found this quote finally forty years after writing my first book entitled, “Nature’s Enduring Patterns” (1978). Sound similar? Pursuing knowledge, expression, and documentation of those patterns has been my lifework.

The following nine were adopted from A.G. Wilson’s 60th Birthday Pamphlet (for its full text go to albertgwilson.com):

“If a man is fortunate he will, before he dies, gather up as much as he can of his civilized heritage and transmit it to his children.”  WILL DURANT

I might add that limiting this transfer only to his heritage leaves out the vast array of memorable sayings from all the other heritages that must be included. I might add that often it is not his children or even grandchildren that value his heritage as much as non-familial follower/supporters.

“Learning preserves the errors of the past as well as its wisdom.” A.N.WHITEHEAD

“It isn’t what we don’t know that gets us into trouble, it’s what we know that ain’t so.” WILL ROGERS

One of my favorite learnings is that UNLEARNING is as essential to the wise person as LEARNING is. Also there is a wide range of evidence that unlearning is resisted in our species. Not surprising. To learn we forge new neural nets and connections to old neural nets at some considerable physiological expense and over time. It is not easy to cancel out old neural nets. So some of our graduates, actually revert to earlier learned falsities or fantasies even in the face of new evidence.

“Every man takes the limits of his own vision for the limits of the world.” SCHOPENHAUER

In the books I hope to write, I hope to detail from modern biomedical brain research how very limited our brains are; and how they may be expanded in meta-humans.

“Courage will not save you, but it will show your souls are still alive.” GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

“The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.” WILLIAM JAMES

“There is wisdom in the selection of wisdom.” BERGEN EVANS

“All experience teaches us that no one has yet asked too much.” SIR FRED HOYLE

“Never try to tell everything you know. It may take too short a time.” NORMAN FORD

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