A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace. CONFUCIUS

Saturday 23 November 2013

Pondered Garrulousness

Two great quotes from last Saturday's Guardian Review (yes, I'm behind) . . .

Allan Cameron in his book In Praise of the Garrulous describes writing as pondered garrulousness. He also says this: Talking, listening, reading and writing add little to our GDP, but a great deal to our wellbeing.

As bloggers, I think we all know instinctively what he means.

3 comments:

George said...

Couldn't agree more. GDP may be a measure of our material wealth, but "wellbeing" is something altogether different, something that depends on good writing, good conversation, and mindful listening.

The Solitary Walker said...

Yes, I agree, George!

Dominic Rivron said...

I like "pondered garrulousness". I've just indulged in some, commenting on a fellow-blogger's post. I wrote three paragraphs and deleted two. I risk stating the obvious here, but I'm always interested in how, when I go on and on "on paper" I reflect and cross out a lot of things I would have said had I simply gone on and on talking. Had I just talked, I wouldn't have crossed anything out. I might even have felt quite pleased with myself. It's a scary thought. It makes me wonder how many ridiculous assumptions I've made just because I talk more than I write. Is the process of writing essential to the refinement of thinking? Isn't this why the development of civilisation and the development of writing tend to go together?