Fear is not a good teacher. The lessons of fear are quickly forgotten.
MARY CATHERINE BATESONOften continuity is visible only in retrospect.
More Mary Catherine Bateson Quotes
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The human species thinks in metaphors and learns through stories.
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As you get up in the morning, as you make decisions, as you spend money, make friends, make commitments, you are creating a piece of art called your life.
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A disgruntled reflection on my own life as a sort of desperate improvisation in which I was constantly trying to make something coherent from conflicting elements to fit rapidly changing settings.
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We are not what we know but what we are willing to learn.
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What would it be like to have not only color vision but culture vision, the ability to see the multiple worlds of others.
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Most higher education is devoted to affirming the traditions and origins of an existing elite and transmitting them to new members.
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Human beings tend to regard the conventions of their own societies as natural, often as sacred.
MARY CATHERINE BATESON -
Improvisation can be either a last resort or an established way of evoking creativity.
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Often continuity is visible only in retrospect.
MARY CATHERINE BATESON -
Improvisation and new learning are not private processes; they are shared with others at every age. We are called to join in a dance whose steps must be learned along the way, so it is important to attend and respond. Even in uncertainty, we are responsible for our steps.
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A suprising number of physicians manage to continue to care about persons even after the rigors of medical training.
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The past empowers the present, and the sweeping footsteps leading to this present mark the pathways to the future.
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The timing of death, like the ending of a story, gives a changed meaning to what preceded it.
MARY CATHERINE BATESON -
Solutions to problems often depend upon how they’re defined.
MARY CATHERINE BATESON -
Monotony and repetition are characteristic of many parts of life, but these do not become sources of conscious discomfort until novelty and entertainment are built up as positive experiences.
MARY CATHERINE BATESON






