Spinoza’s early early account arises when reality does not…
Spinoza’s early early account arises when reality does not afford with our preconceptions.
— from Takeoff Into Chaos · Wonderstuck: How Wonder and Awe Shape the Way We Think by Helen De Cruz
In the book
You meet each new thing by sketching a quick map of it and comparing that map, in a fraction of a second, against all the maps you already carry. Spinoza saw the catch centuries ago: our distress arises not from the world itself but from the moment the world refuses to match the picture we brought to it. [Here, tell them about your own most frightening takeoff — the early years, the first time the sky felt like far too much, the stretch when you were certain you were the only pilot up there who didn't know what he was doing.] — Takeoff Into Chaos