You lot can’t even piss without missing the target. So obviously things are going to go wrong if you get hold of a pistol.", Why does Zara use such a sharp, blunt domestic insult during an official interrogation? Look at Jim's calm reaction ("Can I interpret that as..."). Why does his calm questioning style work better with Zara than Jack's emotional approach?, "I didn’t say that money was happiness. I said happiness is like money. A made-up value that represents something we can’t weigh or measure.", What does Zara mean by calling happiness a made-up value? Do you agree that society has agreed on a "standard definition" of happiness that doesn't actually fit everyone, "The truth is that far more people would rather be rich than happy... Having a purpose. A goal. A direction.", Zara argues that running around "being happy all the time" is for complete idiots. Is having a clear purpose and direction more stable and important for our balance than just chasing a happy mood?, "I buy distance from other people. The most expensive thing you can buy in the most densely populated places on the planet is distance.", Look at Zara's examples (first class, no middle seats, big gaps between tables). In hindsight, is buying distance a sign of professional success, or is it a textbook defensive mechanism to hide deep emotional trauma and loneliness?, "In their marriage, she and Roger had come to resemble sharks... When you’ve been stuck with each other long enough it can seem like there’s no difference between no longer arguing and no longer caring.", Why do Roger and Anna-Lena resemble sharks (who must keep moving to stay alive and breathe)? When a couple stops arguing, does it mean they achieved harmony, or that they simply stopped caring?, .practically everyone distinguishes between good and bad, so if we breach our own moral code, we have to come up with an excuse for ourselves. I think that’s known as neutralizing techniques in criminology. We need something to justify our bad deeds.”, What are "neutralizing techniques"? How do people use them to protect their conscience after making a bad choice?, “Fear can numb people at the sight of a pistol, switch off everything except the brain’s most important signals, silence all background noise... First the heart stops, then it races... The survival instinct and fear of dying start flashing...”, How does the body react when the survival instinct takes over? What does the author mean by saying fear "switches off all background noise"?

Quote+Question chapter21-28

by
Print
Embed

Leaderboard

Visual style

Options

Switch template

Continue editing: ?