235. Expecting a different outcome from the same behaviour

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A couple of days ago I wrote about how appeasers, in this case Republican congressmen and Senators in the US, expect a different outcome from the same behaviour, borrowing a quote from Winston Churchill. Observant readers may have noticed that the initial statement was a reference to another quote, this one from an, in my opinion, even much greater mind, Albert Einstein, who is credited with saying: ‘The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result’. Einstein was referring to the scientific method but, in fact, his quote is at the crossroads between science, philosophy and even self-help (not that he would understand the latter term). This in fact is a common human trait that manifests itself everywhere. Many wish for different outcomes, different results, but few have the will, the desire to change behaviours to bring them about. Honesty with oneself is the first and most important step in that hard road, wishful thinking its worst foe

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Location: Hereford, UK

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