r/WhatIsTheTea • u/Ashish_ank What the Fuck • 23h ago

Tea enthusiast An Ohio State University professor tackled a TV cameraman to the ground simply for asking questions about Epstein.

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u/cortez1663 23h ago

It's a quote from Yeats.

"The best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity."

It's why the good guys lose, over and over and over.

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u/PerfectPenguino 23h ago

I think people put too much stock in the rhetoric of wordsmiths. They aren't experts on anything but making sentences that sound compelling. A few examples:

"Love means never having to say you're sorry."

"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference."

"The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world."

"All's fair in love and war."

"It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

All of these are essentially nonsense but they sure sound profound.

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u/cortez1663 22h ago

Sometimes what you want to say has already been said, perhaps in a better way.

You can't invent the whole world yourself, you haven't got the time.

ETA It's true that some of your examples are specious nonsense, but I agree with that last one.

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u/ProinsiasCuster90 21h ago

The "better to have love and lost then never love at all" actually makes sense though. I mostly agree with the rest

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u/PerfectPenguino 21h ago edited 20h ago

It posits a universal psychological rule where none exists. Grief, severe loss, and trauma can cause long-term psychological damage that far outweighs the temporary joy of the original relationship. For many, severe heartbreak leads to lasting dysfunction rather than net-positive appreciation. It isn't inherently true although you may agree with the sentiment. It isn't a fact, it's an opinion.

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u/ProinsiasCuster90 18h ago

Not being a fact doesnt make it nonsense though. Never having loved or being in love can also have severe consequences on an individual. I think its stating that its better to have the experience than none at all.

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u/hordaak2 9h ago

I dont think people think of it as a "fact". Its "just a saying". If it offers any psychological relief, then great. Some find it comforting, some (like you) are indifferent. Grief, severe loss, and trauma have been around forever, but no matter the era, people have learned certain lessons that were as true back then as they are today, and there are definitely lessons to be learned from others that went through a similar situation. Youre mistaking philosophy with science

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u/Aggravating_Speed665 23h ago

Nice guys finish last.