David Foster Wallace

Novelist American 1962 – 2008

American writer known for Infinite Jest.

370 quotes

"We are such lonely creatures and we do not even know it."
Solitude
"The so-called 'problem of consciousness' is actually insoluble."
Science
"Ambition is just another form of fear."
Fear
"The so-called 'beauty' of mathematics is really just the elegance of compression."
Science
"You can't think about the future without thinking about death."
Death
"The so-called 'meaning' of art is whatever the artist intended it to be."
Art
"Mentality is nothing but the expression of the body in its most concentrated form."
Health
"The so-called 'real world' is the one we create through our attention."
Wisdom
"Pursue, keep pursuing, with the same reverential intensity of a man in those final days of his life."
Perseverance
"The so-called 'problem' of evil is really a problem of perspective."
Philosophy
"The so-called 'grace' of God is really just luck."
Faith
"The most obvious, ubiquitous, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about."
Truth
"The so-called 'point' of life is usually obscured by the living of it."
Life
"Courage is grace under pressure."
Courage
"The so-called 'meaning' we seek is usually the meaning we create."
Wisdom
"Authority is not valid unless it is delegated with care."
Leadership
"The so-called 'real' is what resists our attempts to understand it."
"There is no more important skill than the ability to listen."
Friendship
"The so-called 'problem' of suffering is really a problem of attachment."
Philosophy
"The so-called 'final analysis' is usually just the beginning."
Wisdom
"If your head is full of stuff, the best thing to do is get it out."
Creativity
"The so-called 'real you' emerges only in moments of crisis."
Truth
"There are no surprising facts, only surprising perspectives."
Knowledge
"The so-called 'point' of anything is determined by the observer."
Philosophy
"To be in love is to misunderstand the nature of love itself."
Love
"The so-called 'self' is really just a collection of momentary impressions."
Philosophy
"What is the most important thing you have ever read that has changed how you see the world?"
Literature
"The so-called 'modern condition' is really just the human condition with electricity."
Philosophy
"Most people will install lasers in their files instead of reading them."
Humor
"The so-called 'future' is really just the past seen from a different angle."
Time