Recently I watched Ian McEwan on Bloomberg's Muse program. At one point McEwan talked about how he finds inspiration in people's contradictoriness. He provided a nice example of how people can be inherently--and comfortably--contradictory. He spoke with a bit of humor and irony--and an unmistakable English accent. Here, I transcribe from the interview:
"I went up...not far from the North Pole a couple of years ago with a very dedicated bunch of scientists and artists who wanted to think about climate change.
"We had to take off all our outside gear so we didn't bring moisture into the ship. Within a day or two this boot room was just a chaos: people pinching each others boots, they couldn't find their own, taking each others helmet. Yet in the night, we'd sit 'round the table and talk about our plans to save the Earth.
"So there's that marvelous contradiction between our idealism and generosity as well as our streaks of selfishness--sometimes even cruelty. All these running together often within one person. That's what fascinates me."
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